The Road to Joy
by cornerstreetshop
Summary: Teddy Buey will always have the urge to run away from her soul mate.
1. Chapter 1 This Can't Happen Again

**A/N: I don't own anything that doesn't seem at all foriegn to you (Teddy and the whole plot is pretty much mine.)**

**And you say the last name B-u-ee.**

**Plus she has nothing to do with Lupin's Teddy. Nothing at all!**

**

* * *

Chpt.1 This Can't Happen Again**

I was never supposed to fall in love.

It wasn't in the tarot cards or in the crystal ball the "gypsy" had in the carnival that visited my town every summer. My brother and I would always go to the fair grounds by the river just to get our future told; so that once we got older we could laugh at how wrong they were.

Of course, it was a ridiculous thing to do because it would be _forever _till we were grown, but that didn't matter I guess.

What did matter, though, is that every time my brother would get a different prediction, he'd had four kids, he'd be a widower before he ever had kids, he'd have broils all over his face when he graduated, etc. But me? I had the same thing told to me over the years;

"You should never fall in love".

Course that did a toll on me.  
It made me realize that I, Agnes Theodora Buey should never fall in love.  
(And of course, it didn't take a 3 year old to figure that out…. It took a 9 year old me.)

* * *

"Oh!" Emily squealed bursting through our room as if she was the Fonz. Or just a really cool kid who liked kicking doors open. "Just oh! This won't do. No, no neither will this….Ugh, why'd I even pack that?...No matter what I do I'll look like five!"

First she had loudly come through the door, then she started throwing her clothes around out of her trunk onto the floor and now she was muttering to herself. All very distracting, but I tried to keep concentrated on the paper before me, urging myself to finish this essay. I was not willing to let the Emily tornado suck me up, not again!

"Oh, Teddy, care to help me pick out an outfit?" She finally turned to me; hands on hips looking truly exasperated…The warning signals never actually work for the Emily tornado.

"What's it for?" I asked, setting my pen down. White flag is waving, Mrs. Mother-Nature, just leave me in peace to finish my essay. Thhhen send the Emily tornado after me. Please?

"_He's_ finally available! I've got to make an impression on him!" As soon as the word available came out of her mouth, about 4 other girls came rushing into the dorm, causing a rustle of the papers on my bed, making it fall to the ground. Not one of them said sorry or helped to pick them up.

I guess that's what you get for being second in your class. Or quite frankly not letting them copy _my_ essay when I did the hard work and they just sat around talking about the latest issue of whatever.

And as soon as I was done collecting all my papers, everyone deserted the room almost as fast as they entered. Who changes clothes that fast?

I didn't care who was single that week. Remember the whole, "I'm not supposed to fall in love"?. It didn't change the fact that I thought he was rather handsome, but **I **had an essay to finish.

* * *

Sirius Black laid on his back, looking up at the curtains wishing he wasn't lying down. 

"So what happened?" His friend asked, still unpacking even though they've been at school for a whole two weeks now. Leave it to him to procrastinate.

"The normal, she started talking about commitment, and I just had to break it off" Sirius sighed, rolling his head to one side, his arms behind it.

"Aw, is a wittle someone afraid of commitment?"

"No! It's just, this is our last year, you know? I want to be as free as I can, not settling down, being totally reckless, not letting anything get in my way"

"In other words, staying away from women completely?" James asked, which they both laughed at. Sirius sat up, massaged his temple than stood all the way and started heading towards the door, calling back to James "I'm heading down for dinner".

Unbeknownst to Sirius, almost the entire girl population had assembled into the Common Room, giving it quite a cramped feeling, waiting for him. If it had been "knownst" to him, he wouldn't have come down in the first place.

"Oh, oh Sirius!" The girls cried when they saw him coming down the stairs. A rather surprising, erm, surprise to him, he jumped almost five feet from the screeches.

"Oh hello, ladies…Well I'm gonna go eat now…if you don't mind parting the way" He said lamely, but apparently not to the ladies because they sighed and divided up, watching him till he climbed through the door.

* * *

Just as fast as the rest of her bunkmates had entered the door the last time, they entered as slowly as they could this time. All with protruding lips and furrowed brows, Teddy could feel their sadness irradiating off them, which made her have the need to ask. _But _she only had a few more messily words to write down, a few periods and comas here and there, maybe even a semi-colon. Curiosity and drive never mixed will with Teddy Buey. 

"What's wrong with you all?" Teddy asked not taking her eyes or hands off her essay, knowing that this was the last stretch, that finally she would be the proud owner of a finished essay!

"Dinner, that's what!" Answered Emily, grumpily, from which only Teddy could guess on her bed. "If we had only gone down there a half an hour later, we would have been merrily sitting with Sirius Black giving him a shoulder to cry on! It would look ridiculous to go and eat twice, not to mention those extra calories!"

Emily loudly sighed just as Teddy lifted her hands off her paper as she silently gave out thanks to all the little people who helped her along the strenuous journey to finishing a paper.

But then something made Teddy stop, lift her head up and finally fully acknowledge Emily there.

"Did you say dinner?"

But before Emily even opened her mouth, Teddy was flying through the door and down the stairwell, rushing to the Great Hall with as much speed as a gazelle, but as much grace as a hippo.

* * *

How I managed to forget about dinner, I have no clue. I mean, you'd think with being distracted just by a few sighs and rumples of clothes, I'd be distracted enough by my grumbling tummy. 

Which, by the way, only just started sounded like a garbage disposal swallowing about forty silver forks at a time.

Luckily, the Great Hall was still open. The oak doors where wide, but only the elite stragglers were left behind; maybe seven other students and one teacher, who just seemed bored out of his mind. I never understood why they kept dinner open for one hour, but now I was just thankful for it.

Sliding into a seat, which was three seats away from the only other person at my table, I grabbed a ladle full of what looked like peas. In etiquette school, they teach you that if you and another person, that you are not acquainted with, are the only ones at a table, the furthest seat you could sit and still be able to engage in conversation is three seats away. I know because I had to take it for four years. And attend a cotillion. With a smelly date who, I doubt seriously ever went to etiquette school.

Three people left from the Hufflepuff table, as I moved on from the peas to the cornbread, then to the roast beef. If anyone hated the food here, I'd shovel gruel down their mouths. Or the more "manner-ed" way of forcefully feeding food to someone. It depends on who's watching said event.

"You know, they don't waste the food we don't eat here. It's not like they don't give the food to the starving kids of China or something" A bemused voice said to my right, of course the logical answer being Sirius. He _was_ the only other person at this table.

"I figure, if they can't get fat, I might as well. I'll gladly carry the weight they're supposed to weigh." I said, cutting up my roast beef into lady like sizes at a very fast rate.

He chuckled and moved down two seats so that he was diagonally to my right. The seat directly across from you or beside you is reserved for lovers and family members, so him not choosing that seat was very…etiquette of him. Maybe some one else in the bloody school went to etiquette class.

"There is also no contest to see who finishes first, because if you haven't noticed you've already lost. By a lot" Sirius said, motioning to the nearly empty room, save two lovebirds at the Ravenclaw table and the teacher patrolling the Great Hall. I set down my knife and fork, twisting the knife to face the plate, and picked up the spoon instead.

"I only have about ten minutes left to eat, and I don't want to go to bed starving. Then I'll dream of pies, which have never been my favorite dessert anyways" I scooped up some peas and drove them into my mouth, possibly the most un-lady like thing I've done all day. The whole eating part of the lessons never really stuck in my brain too well.

"I'm Sirius Black" He said, sticking out his hand.

"Teddy Buey" Before speaking or shaking his, I successfully swallowed my peas.

"So why are you late to dinner?"

"I had to finish the Transfiguration essay" I scooped up another mouthful of peas.

"You do know it's not due till Thursday, don't you?"

I shook my head vigorously, my mouth _was_ full of green, round vegetables and that would have looked disgusting mashed up in my mouth.

He started to laugh as I finished with my peas and moved onto my cornbread. I had to eat my dinner starting with fruits or vegetables, carbs, then the meat. That wasn't taught in etiquette school.

The "Five-minute bell" rang through the Great Hall only, signally we better eat faster or else everything on the table will disappear. The teacher up at the table seemed startled by it because he instantly fell off his chair once it sounded, and the Ravenclaw lovebirds looked disheartened as they walked through the Great Hall doors, still looking into each others' eyes.

Did it dishearten me when I saw couples like them walk through the halls?  
Course it did. I'm a girl after all, I would be plain weird if I didn't say I've never had a crush on anyone, but I wasn't _supposed_ to fall in love. And that was reason enough for me never to want to be like those couples.

"Well, it's been fun talking to you, Sirius, but this girl has to get back to her dorm before all the other girls evoke a real tornado" I said, pushing my plate forward, the meat still untouched and the silverware neatly placed.

"Night Teddy" Sirius called to me as I walked away, laughing again as I left.

He was rather handsome up close too.


	2. Chapter 2 Spinning games

**Chpt. 2 Spinning Games**

**A/N: I don't own anything except Miss Buey. The plot too. It'd be insane if I didn't.**

**Big thanks to martyr4mylove4u for reviewing.**

**And it wasn't my favorite chapter to write, but it was needed I answered the call of duty!**

* * *

Teddy Buey had almost always been placed next to Sirius Black in History of Magic, Professor Binns did love to put people alphabetically, but she rarely has ever talked to him. Except for last night, that must have bee a freak accident. But lucky for Teddy, the girls in her dorm or any other girl for that matter hadn't asked her about their chat yet.

Sirius Black had just noticed today the girl sitting next to him in History of Magic. Why he didn't notice her before, he'll never know. Maybe it's because she's already got out a quill and parchment, ready to take notes even though no one else did. Most of the time, that type of girl automatically went off his radar. He slid into his seat, grinning at Teddy.

"Mornin'"

"Hello, Sirius."

The conversation seemed to stop there; Teddy glanced at her stacked paper, while Sirius raked his fingers through his hair. The silence was a bit awkward, filling only the two desk diameter with quiet, until Sirius decided to ask a question that had only popped into his mind a split second before.

"No offense, but what kind of name is Teddy?"

"What kind of name is Sirius?" She shot back, smirking a little as she looked up at him.

"I'll have you know it's a very famous star, like me." Sirius grinned again, puffing out his chest a little. "I answered your question, answer mine"

Teddy looked hesitant for a second or two, and then gave up on whatever she was thinking and began to speak: "My real name isn't Teddy, its Agnes, but when I was six, I told my mother I hated that name. Who goes around with the name Agnes at age six? So instead she started calling me Teddy"

"But why-"

"Teddy? It's short for Theodora, my middle name. Quite frankly I didn't like that name as a child either. It's like she, my mother, decided to name me granny names" Sirius' grin became a smile while Professor Binns floated in and told the class to quiet down.

* * *

Sirius kept feeling he was being tapped in the head by something, awaking him from a nice little nap, when he saw a paper airplane lazily in the air, waiting to be opened, in the middle of History of Magic.

**Hey, who's the girl you were chatting up in the beginning of class?  
-James  
**_I wasn't "chatting" any girl up. What happened to being reckless and free this year?  
_**Fine who's the girl you were ****talking**** with?  
**_Her name is Teddy Buey; I was just asking about her name  
_**I'm sure that's all you asked her about  
**_Hey! I wasn't just making up all that free crap, thank you! Besides, don't you have a future girlfriend to be annoying to right now?  
_**Lily? Well I decided maybe if I only ask her out once a week, she'll see I've changed. You know, more mature and all that rubbish.  
**_I'm pretty sure you've asked her out everyday to last her till she's fifty, but if that's the plan of action you want to take, I'm right behind you man.  
_**Gee, thanks for the support.**

**

* * *

**Sirius and I were talking a lot more, lately. It wasn't all that weird or forced, like so many other teenage girls anticipate, but it's not like I wasn't aware he wasn't a male either. Or that I thought he was "dreamy". I just knew there were certain subjects we couldn't talk about, girly topics full of estrogen and fluff. Not that I did talk about those topics with Emily ("Oh hey Emily, I started my period, so don't make fun of my bloating"?), but my point is stated, isn't it? The more we started to chat, though, the less it mattered about the topics of our conversations. I wasn't falling for Sirius Black. I was just merely building my friendship. 

The only down side to being friendly with Sirius, were the girls. It's almost like each and every one of them had their own dream-world where they had Sirius on a tight leash and thought of me as the wicked witch (no pun intended) who came to claim their man. It didn't matter to me if they talked about me behind my back, this was my last year after-all and next year by this time it'd be a miracle if I faced them everyday.

And it only bothered me to a point, the girls who drilled me for every tiny detail about of latest conversation, in and out of the dorm room. Some how, Emily seemed to conduct every "press conference" between the Sirius Black fan club and me, which did make everything a little more bearable. But still not comfortable. I mean, who goes out and describes verbatim their conversation with another person? It's almost psychotic

What did bother me were the girls who took revenge on me. They were petty, like spilt ink "accidentally" getting on my pages in the Common Room or the mysterious holes in my robe (I have a sneaking suspicion Susan is the one behind this because for the past week her cat has been coughing up black colored fur balls and her fur is orange!) But they were physical non-the-less and I shouldn't be punished for expressing my simple right to talk to whom ever I want!

* * *

Teddy Buey was stomping through the snow in the middle of the street in Hogsmeade, tucking her hands in the pockets of her muggle pea coat.

She had walked up with Emily, shortly followed by a gaggle of girls, who had wanted to know about yesterday's "looooong, deep talk" with Sirius by the window. Truth be told, Teddy and him had only talked for about twenty minutes, but she knew that they probably couldn't talk to him for about five on a count of nerves, so she let it go. She had lost them at The Three Broomsticks because they were cold and needed some refreshments, but Teddy continued on.

Sirius had walked up to Hogsmeade with his friends like normal. Even when he had a date, he still walked up to Hogsmeade with his friends. It was tradition, after-all and if his date was crummy, he didn't want the awkwardness to seep into the long walk.

They laughed as usual, and somehow Peter always ended up getting slapped upside the head by James, but as soon as they hit the main street Sirius noticed Remus and Peter itching to get inside Honeydukes. And Sirius knew James had spotted Lily immediately, he did have a Lily radar permanently attached to his brain. He himself had seen the outline of Teddy in the distance, and not waiting for each other them to excuse himself politely (what were they, freaks who went to etiquette school?), he said a quick goodbye and jogged a little to catch up with Teddy.

"Hey, where ya heading to?" Teddy heard a voice behind her, which made her jump. Even toasters made Teddy air-born.

"The Shreiking Shack" She said, still a little startled even though it was only Sirius and he normally surprised her like this. Teddy doubted she'd ever get used to it. "I've never been before, and you know what they say 'No time like the present!'"

"Well then m'lady, you need an escort, you know, so you won't get scared" Sirius suddenly grabbed the shoulder not closest to him, and shook it violently, which caused Teddy to jump just like she had a minute ago.

She slapped him on the shoulder.

* * *

"It doesn't seem as scary as everyone says" I said a little disappointed, looking at the swaying, disheveled house a couple of meters ahead.

My forearms rested on the fence, lifting the weight off my feet a little. Sirius stood exactly the same way, granting me the right to laugh. I couldn't decide, though, if he just naturally was standing like that, or if he was making fun of me?

But how could you make fun of someone for the way they stood?

"Oh really?" He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, _really,_ I mean it's sort of romantic. In the 'this house is in a dire need of a fixer-upper' way"

"That is the first time I've heard anybody ever say that about this house" Sirius chuckled, then smirked a little. "You are one strange girl, Agnes."

"Me? Strange? Those two don't even belong in the same paragraph" I looked back to the house. It started to snow.

* * *

Sirius Black had ended up spending most of the day with Agnes at the Shrieking Shack. He didn't even do that with his friends, but that was because they all knew why the house was there and it was nonsense to spend even _more _time there.

It was actually fun, too. He hated being in the same place for more than a few minutes and he loathed talking to a girl whom he didn't want to have for more than a few minutes.

Two for two, he was certain that it would be a horrible day.

But it wasn't, and Sirius Black was positively confused.

Agnes was fun to be around. And she acted like the oldest 17-year-old he knew at the same time. She was taller than most girls he talked to (of course, he thought over half of the female population was short, though) and she did all her homework.

Sirius was certain that he shouldn't be confused, that Agnes should be, she had completely opposite traits!

And then Sirius thought something foreign to him when thinking about Agnes. He tried to shake it out of his brain, push it to the back of his mind, to crush it by getting a song stuck in his head.

But this thought was an Olympic weight lifter.

Sirius Black could not be falling for Agnes. He was only building up their friendship.

(He hoped.)


	3. Chapter 3 Marvelous Things

**A/N:For the sake of not being repetitive, I shall only say this; I own a few things in my life, Teddy and this story are two things.**

**And I pretty much have this whole story written in my head, yet, I never want to type it up nor do I actually have a perfect picture of Teddy in my mind. **

**Plus this is probably the shortest, yet my favorite-est chapters. **

**Sighs.**

**Chpt. 3 Marvelous Things

* * *

**

When other people started to leave for their home after the first quarter was done for Christmas, I told them that I wanted to spend as much time as I could here. That since it was my last year, I might as well try to remember every notch on the wall.

What I didn't tell them (and by them I mean Emily, no one else really cared), though, was that my parents were traveling to Greece for my brother's wedding to some girl that **I **haven't even met yet.

Figures we were all nice and bubbly at home but once Jack gets the chance to get out of England, he leaves on a midnight train and gets engaged on the spot.

Apparently, though, one of the psychics did tell Jack he'd met his love on a train.

(He still tried to tell me that my, and I quote, "Fear of love is irrational and childish". Says the guy who got engaged two hours after meeting the girl.)

I wasn't invited because my parents and my brother all decided this was an important year for my education and that less the distractions, the better.

So simply, my whole family went on vacation without me because my constant studying in the previous years and almost complete knowledge of every subject I take is not yet up to par.

I must say that Christmas around Hogwarts is pretty though (it would've been pretty in Greece, too.)

The weather was off though, like wrong season off. It would snow one day, then for four whole days, the snow would melt with 55 degree weather, it would out and out rain cats and dogs and then the cycle was started all over again.

Which means that on Christmas it wasn't even snowing, so much for a White Christmas! Of course, I realize in Greece I most likely wouldn't have had a chance for a White Christmas either, but it's Greece! It's not like it was supposed to snow there anyways.

* * *

It was three days, 6 hours and twenty-two minutes before every student would refill the halls and Sirius Black knew it. He slightly dreaded it too, because lately it was only Agnes and him. No one questioned him; no one dogged him on staying single for almost five months and no one made him think about his and Agnes' relationship.

It just existed.

It was the fifth full day of warm weather, but Sirius didn't doubt that it'd rain before midnight hit. That didn't stop Agnes and him from staying out by the lake. The water rippled like bird feathers in a hurricane, with no real pattern of direction.

"So they write me this long, extensive letter comparing the blue of the ocean and all the white houses to the actual flag of Greece and all the cheesiest symbols and similes you could make in a single letter without the actual paper throwing itself out." Agnes sat with her legs bent the same way to her left, while picking apart a blade of grass. The wind violently tossed her hair but she didn't seem to care.

After all, blades of grass can hold the attention of a kindergartner for ten minutes straight.

"Everyone thinks they're a poet," Sirius sat in contrast to Agnes, along the ground, staring up at the sky. Yes, he was quite certain it would rain today. The clouds were dark enough for it.

"Tell me about it, I remember when Jack thought he was a po-"Agnes was rudely interrupted by a thunder clap clambering through their ears. Sirius stood up so fast that there was almost a perfect indentation of his body still left in the grass, when they looked at each other, shrugged and Sirius started running off towards the castle. Agnes stood as quickly as she could, sprinting after Sirius.

There was nothing like unspoken races in the heat of natural events.

The rain started to pour half way to the castle, causing head to toe drenched-ness for Agnes and Sirius. But they didn't let that stop them, there was still a race and Agnes was determined to beat him.

S was determined to keep his lead.

* * *

By the time I reached the stone steps, which were under the awning-like edge of the roof, Sirius was already catching his breath facing the Pompeii beige wall, with his hands on his hips.

I never was a runner.

And it'd take me a full week to thaw out of these clothes!

So far this was the stupidest thing I've done.

I didn't fully stop running till I reached the wall though, bouncing off a little and turning around so that I could rest leaning against something. I was still breathing deeply; I could feel my dirty blonde hair matted to my face and my shoes would probably never retain their shape again.

But Sirius kept staring at me. He was to my right, simply staring at my face with an unreadable expression, while I stood still on the spot growing red like a stove-top.

I never liked people staring at me.

But he kept his eyes lingering on mine.

* * *

After what seemed an eternity, Sirius stopped staring at Agnes and acted.

The rain could be heard for about thirty miles and the random flashes of light made every feature of her face more and more beautiful. Sirius acted and didn't regret a single thing.

He put his hands on the wall, making a wide-eyed Agnes in the middle. She stayed silent and still like a deer, watching to see if his intentions were respectable or could be her death. He leaned in,

"I'm not looking for commitment."

Agnes was both terribly frightened to be this close to Sirius and incredibly happy.

"I'm not looking for love."

And when the brightest flash of lightning shone, and when the loudest thunder clap sounded, Sirius Black had Agnes Theodora Buey in a lip lock.


	4. Chapter 4 Piazza, New York Catcher

**Chpt. 4 Piazza, New York Catcher**

**A/N Still don't own anything. But I am crossing my fingers and rubbing my bunny's foot repeatedly.**

**I know I know, shun me all you want! It's been _forever _since I last updated, but atleast it wasn't that much of a cliffhanger. I mean, I left off on a happy note, so that means you'll only shun my person and not my story, right?**

**This part made me a little happy (by the time you end you might question how) because I love using nicknames. Especially random ones.

* * *

**

**You are so falling fast  
-James**

Sirius had the hardest task he ever had in Professor Binn's class, and that was only opening James's note with one hand. His right one was presently connected to Agnes' and he was failing at trying to sleep with only one arm to rest on.

Of course Sirius failed even more at trying to open the note with secrecy. Even Agnes stole a questioning glance at him before returning to scribbling down every word that dripped out of Professor Binn's voice, sloppier than ever.

Lucky for her, she had her right hand open, though.

_Falling for what?_ Sirius scratched, looking more like what a person would write with his toes than anything else.

**Agnes. Jeez, she's turning your brain to mush isn't she? AM I GOING TO HAVE TO PREFORM ZOMBIE PLAN B?  
**_NO! I will not have hot acid dripped till the smell of flesh repulses me. It'd ruin any chances of being a spokes model. Besides, she isn't turning my brain to mush and I'm not falling.  
_**You wouldn't call public displays of affection falling, mi amigo?  
**_No. I would call opening everything from doors to packages falling, amigo.  
_**Oi. I'm being chivalrous, it worked for the knights!  
**_They also wore fifty pounds of metal just to be thrown into the oceans and sink to their death…  
_**This isn't me we're talking about, Mister Googly Eyes  
**_I DO NOT have googly eyes.  
_**Keep telling yourself that, serf. But my all knowing powers bet you'll profess you undying love for Teddy before finals.  
**_I'm not falling, Lancelot. It's the last year remember, no commitments?  
_**Oh, if only I could sweep my dear Guinevere away!  
**_And public displays of affection are worse how?__

* * *

_

It's not like he was the first boy I kissed. Nope. 4th year, Hogsmeade in the quill shop. Freddy something-or-other asked me out with the sincerest look on his face (it didn't help he had a baby face permanently etched with that look on either). 

It didn't work out though. This time it wasn't because of my prophecies were against it. It's just, who takes a girl out to a quill shop?

Still, I was weirded out by having someone constantly care for me, or having someone always there to talk to.

Although I'm pretty Emily would have us attached at the hip, if she could. I was living out her teenage dream, and she was going to live through me vicariously whether I liked it or not.

I didn't like it. On top of Sirius' attention, the girls in the whole school paid me more attention than the other teacher's combined. It was like no matter where I was, I was attacked with the name Sirius. As if that name was a bulgder out to get me until I was no more than a spec of dust in the trophy room.

But even with all those complaints and total lack of solitary moments, it was still like being on ecstasy. He was witty and charming and he grew more and more attractive in every sense of the word through the weeks we dated.

Which is odd, because a lot of the girls keep telling me soon he'll be boring in my eyes. And that I should just give up on it on the peak of our relationship.

But they don't know about how I'm not supposed to fall in love.  
And that I was preventing our relationship to blossom faster than its natural capacity.  
What they don't know won't hurt, them right?

I mean, if I told someone, the obvious effect is Sirius finding out. Or the girls would just go hay-wire and sabotage me even more. (Yeah, definitely Susan's cat chewing holes in my robes. I found its cat hairs on them this time and walked in on her once putting her cat near my things. "I was just letting my cat know its boundaries" my tushy.)

So I'm not telling anyone about my future plans and who's not supposed to be in them.  
Sirius already knows how I'm not looking for love.  
And neither of us is pushing this relationship.  
So it's almost perfect.

I hope this perfect lasts.

* * *

Their hands intertwined, Agnes and Sirius were lying on the couch in the Common Room, too warm for a fire in the middle of March.

"You know, I've never been this interested in a girl for this long," Sirius mused, ruffling Agnes' hair as she leaned on him.

"Call me strange but I think I would've preferred you tell me I wasn't boring"

"I thought you said 'you and strange doesn't belong in the same paragraph'?"

"Yeah but if it's a stand alone sentence, its okay." Agnes stated as if it was a well known fact. Her back was falling asleep as it rested against Sirius' leg, but she wasn't going to say anything. She'd just have to deal with the sensation of millions of ants invading said back when lunch was ready.

Sirius laughed, now investing both hands to stroke Agnes' hair. She hadn't had this done since she was little, and nostalgia filled her body. Agnes was willing to bet at that moment she'd never be as happy as she was then again.

Sirius looked about the room, with a restless expression that Agnes missed, seeing as her back was turned from him and her eyes were set on the windows. It was the middle of March, making finals creep up into every classroom every other day.

"I can't wait to get out of here. Can't wait to start aurour training and start fighting bad guys the manly style." Laughed Sirius, causing Agnes to shake with his laughter too.

"I can't wait to get out just to avoid the death stare Professor McGonagall gives me every time I enter her class." Sirius knew why the death stare was always guaranteed.

When Agnes entered her "career session" with Professor McGonagoll during 5th year, she had told her that all she wanted to be was a jewelry shop owner. Agnes wasn't partial to any of the subjects in the school, and when she was ten instead of selling lemonade, she sold jewelry. That's what she was good at, and that's how you're supposed to choose you're career's right? But that didn't make sense to Professor McGonagall and there were no classes that were technically needed to make jewelry, so the session ended with Agnes compromising to taking Transfiguratoin and Charms along with the mandatory History Of Magic and Potions, plus a very,very flabbergasted Professor McGonagall. She ended up yelling at the next kid, who went into a session and waited a few minutes to mention what they wanted to do, so loudly that the rare pictures mounted on her walls shook and fell.

"You know, it's weird though to think we'll never walk through these halls the same again, though" Agnes said making Sirius stop stroking her hair and instead went back to intertwining their hands. Sirius sifted a little, which in turn made Agnes sink a little more into the couch and able to see his face if she looked upward.

"Oh I don't think we'll change that much. I hope we don't change that much."

"But if we don't change, what will we learn?" Agnes laughed, change is apart of everyday life. It was practically written in the handbook to living the life of a human.

"If we change too much, though, I might stop loving you." Sirius sucked in his breath, hoping that it would suck those words back too. He was planning on telling Agnes soon enough, but he wanted it planned. He wanted it outside, near where they first kissed or where they first meet, although that would be a little crowded. He didn't want to tell her unplanned, it made him too nervous.

But you rarely get what you want.

Agnes shot up like something bit her; she looked at Sirius to see if he was joking. She was searching for any hint of a laugh or unserious-ness in his eyes. She didn't, which made her heart beat and scared levels raise.

Sirius opened his mouth to add something, to fix what he said or maybe even contradict himself. This did not happen to _him_.

But before he could ever say anything, Agnes ran out of the room, not bothering to add socks or shoes to her bare feet.


	5. Chapter 5 Sometimes the Sun

**A/N: I think that this story is going too fast, so maybe subconsiously I'm putting off updating it here. Yeah...thats it...shifty eyes**

**But I don't think I'd have it go any slower, either. Cause I have no idea how to make it longer without losing my essence.**

**Haha.**

**I think this chapter will make up for the week and some odd days delay of updating, I mean I hope so. Cause I pretty much giggled like a school girl with glee when writing the last part. And writing in all the history similies. Yay.**

**And I want to say thanks to all those who picked this as a favorite, written a review and put an alert on this story. Because that makes me a little more motiviated to keep you fine folks happy. **

* * *

It has been 2 weeks, 3 days and 4 hours since I ran. 7 skipped classes, 122 deferred questions from the girls in my dorm and one dreamless sleep since I ran.

And still counting.

I wasn't heartless when I ran. I'm still not heartless for running. I'm just scared.

I wasn't supposed to fall in love; I was supposed to live a nice long life of celibacy in a jewelry shop that doted on lovers. How did I not see him ever saying that to me?

There was a reason for my non-loving life style, there was a Great Wall built to protect myself from the vicious threats of the Love-Huns. I didn't know exactly why I had to protect myself from love, whether it was because I'd get hurt prematurely or I just lacked the ability to say lovey-dovey things 365 days a year, I just knew it'd be like Armageddon if I ever fell in love.

And then he just trampled over that wall like he was Alexander the Great and I was the rest of the known world. I ran, though, before the lighthouse was built and even a majority of me regrets it.

But the minority holds all the power within me, so I can't go crawling back. I don't want to evoke Armageddon just for a selfish thing like love.

Even though I sort-of kind-of imagine me many times getting married to him. Imagine all the things that I've told myself I could never do, like have kids or own a farm, with him.

But the minority says that staying solitary will be the most beneficial to my well-being. So I have to believe it. If I don't, I might actually admit this out loud.

* * *

Sirius Black watched out the window every day like a traumatized person unaware of the world around him.

James, Remus and Peter checked up on him regularly. They made sure he ate, and got to class, made sure he was rarely alone. But they couldn't regulate where his mind was, or how alone he was up in his own head.

Because all he did during the night was look out the window until she went back into the castle.

He stared at her, just lying in the grass, unmoving like him, staring at the sky. He didn't process any further than that was his Agnes lying in the grass below him.

His friends knew something had happened, pretty much the whole school had, but he didn't bat a lash from it. He just stared.

Sirius made himself numb, immune to the world around him because for the first time he was unwanted. He was disserted in a wonderful world that has turned into hell after she left.

He stayed there though. Waiting for her to return. Because no one left him in hell before, and he had no idea how to get out. So he waited.

Until one Saturday afternoon. When the sky was a dark gray, and she had presumed her post on the grass, an island in a sea of green, and no one else desired to be outdoors.

He fled down the stairs to the dorms, out the portrait hole and through the entrance doors. His friends stood to follow him; they were waiting in the common room, but decided against it. He'd come to them in due time.

Sirius didn't think while he ran, he didn't understand why this day was different or if this was how she ran out of the common room, he just ran.

* * *

I knew it was going to rain the second I was outside. I knew that I'd probably be soaked before 4 was even the time. But that didn't stop olde stubborn me.

I laid in my spot, knees still bent protruding into the sky from my point of view and I just waited. What for? I never knew, but I knew that waiting was better than sulking. It required no thought.

It was a few minutes before I realized someone was at standing near my head. My eyes were normally closed these days as I laid, and I opened them to find a giant Sirius standing before me.

I knew I looked worse than I ever have before, my hair had begun to frizz and my eyes were sunken because I lost most of my appetite, but he looked like pure hell. He smelled like he hadn't showered in days and his eyes looked too dry than to be human.

"We need to talk," Sirius said gruffly. No possible sound came out of his mouth that portrayed the old him.

I ran last time because I was shocked, this time I ran because I was afraid of admitting everything.

I jumped up and was five feet away as quick as the thunder sounded through the air waves. The rain poured not too long afterwards, and I knew that Sirius was following me to the castle. We had been the only stupid ones out during an almost guaranteed rainy day.

Unlike last time, I got to the castle first, my bodied slammed against the walls and I starred as he came running past me.

My momentum and breathing had slowed down, but my heart rate hadn't and I didn't think it ever would.

I looked into his eyes for a moment, searching for the something that I had been waiting for.

"I never wanted to fall in love," I said, loudly, trying to ignore my heart. He looked back at me. "I was never _supposed_ to fall in love!"

"I know" Sirius whispered. Everything but blood seemed to be pumping through me. I was cold and wet and felt as if ice had frozen all my brain waves.

"And yet," The ice had frozen all my thoughts, making the involuntary movement towards him slowly surprising to even me.

"And yet," I whispered as his facial features became more defined and he just stared at me, hanging on every word.

Finally the majority in my body had a revolution. Finally the working class over took every doubting minority and pushed my lips crashing onto his, revealing every emotion I had been feeling these past 3 weeks and 2 hours.

When we parted, our foreheads still closely together, Sirius held so many emotions flashing onto his eyes I wanted to keep everyone of them into a jar. Maybe they'd be the cure to depression every where.

"So does this mean, does this mean you love me too?" Sirius asked, smiling, more like grinning, even though I knew he was still nervous. If our heartbeats combined, we'd die from twenty heart attacks one after another.

"My pants would be on fire, if I said no." I confused. The minorities screamed from the prison the majorities had built in the small amount of time since the revolution.

He drowned them out by kissing me again, our stringy hair intertwining like fate.


	6. Chapter 6 What's a Girl to Do

**A/N: I forgot the disclaimer last time. So I'll make this blatant, J.K. Rowling owns most things, but I own Teddy and the Plot.**

**And it came to my attention (really by myself) that she goes by Teddy but Sirius always refers to her as Agnes. To be honest, at first I thought it was just that cute little personal,(well it's not really a nick)-name.**

**And the five months he's talking about, refers to the time they picked things back up in April.**

* * *

The smell of fish always disturbed me. My family lived near these fishermen, even though technically we weren't close to a harbor.

But they_ loved_ driving a couple of miles to work, apparently.

Anyways, every evening when Jack and I were out playing in the yard, they'd come home with their catches of the day. But they didn't cook the fish before coming home. They didn't even deodorize fish. Course I don't know if you can deodorize fish, but they should have. The least they could've done was cut off the heads; piles of cold staring eyes of a dead fish in a sea of other dead fish.

I swear every summer night spent outside has smelled of fish since.

But that didn't stop me from buying the perfect flat.

The landlord, who conveniently lived right below me, was a pescetarian and every night she cooked trout. Still, it _was_ the perfect flat.

A one bedroom-one bath flat with a walk in closest and kitchen that connected to the living room through a quarter wall. I almost died when I walked in, but Sirius reminded me that I couldn't rent it if I was dead.

Course, I had to chuck some stuff of mine too, the flat wasn't that big and neither was the closest. And I had to forfeit my claims on the open buffet that was my kitchen at home.

But it was the perfect flat!

* * *

Sirius clutched his stomach, slumping on the couch, sighing with satisfaction. That was possibly the best pasta he's ever had.

But he wouldn't tell Agnes that, she had only begun cooking since she started renting the flat and tonight she was too tired to cook, so she ordered out.

How she was tired, was beyond him. Compared to his line of work, her being a clerk at Madam Menkins wasn't comparable. Standing behind a counter and taking measurements, occasionally talking to Madam Menkins about owning a business, seemed like paradise next to his training.

Again, he wouldn't tell this to Agnes. Sirius wasn't quite sure how she'd react, but the fact she'd react non-the-less told him to hold his tongue. She wasn't crazy like the other girls he dated, she was different. So he was always learning with her.

And it disturbed him a little.

"You pig," She laughed, knocking his feet off the cheap, glass table she felt so proud of owning because it was her first real purchase. Agnes lifted Sirius' take-out box off the table, and headed to the kitchen leaving Sirius to follow her with his eyes.

She didn't realize he followed her with his eyes, though, until she re-entered the living room and he was standing, grabbing her into a bear hug almost immediately after she got into the diameter of his imaginary circle.

"My little business woman," He muffled into her hair, swaying her a little. Agnes felt like she was dancing with a drunk, and she laughed, which swayed them even more.

"Okay, okay, I take back calling you a pig!"

He held her back a little, looking into her face,

"Move in with me," Sirius had a glint in his eyes, and Agnes couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

"What? No!" Agnes felt that if she laughed anymore tonight, she'd get a six-pack.

"Why not? We're getting pretty serious, I mean it's been 5 months in two days, and what more of a perfect present than getting to see your pretty face every day." Sirius said animatedly, moving his hands on her forearms.

"Because, this is the first place I've lived in since I've been on my own! I am woman, Sirius, hear me roar!" She stated, not in an angry tone, but more of a questioning tone. Why now, did he want her to move in? And why tonight? He was so spontaneous, that she never made any real plains anymore. "Besides, I'm closer to work this way."

"Aw, come on Agnes, take this risk! You know you'll regret this when you get older!" He pleaded, Agnes still couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

"No Sirius," She took a risk on laughing again. He didn't seem put down though. Instead he grabbed her closer till their faces were inches apart. She could smell the marinara sauce on his breath, but he still was the most handsome man she'd ever seen.

Agnes already doubted her choice on not choosing to see this man ever day, but she didn't listen to those doubts. It was the right choice, she told her self.

"Well, I do need an anniversary gift," Sirius led on.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Agnes smiled, sweetly. He was acting so odd tonight; he never cared if he got a present. He always said "You're enough for me" or something corny like that.

"Let's go somewhere more private and you can find out." His eye brows raised, Agnes was sure in what he thought was suggestive, and looked towards the hall that led to her bedroom.

Catching on to his hint, she gave and "O" expression, and continued to smile sweetly. She leaned in and whispered "Maybe for the 6th anniversary, Honey".

Sirius' smile, that grew as she leaned in, fell and he watched as she sat back down on the couch and turned on the TV that was on the other side of the room, with the remote.

He recovered in a few seconds, sitting down beside her, draping his arm on the back of the couch.

"I have never been refused twice in one night," Sirius laughed, scooting closer to Agnes.

"Well, Sweetie, I'm sure it'll happen for you some day" Agnes replied, patting him on his leg, flipping through the channels with her other hand.

"And what about you? Are you in this picture, my dear?"

"Only if you stop shoveling my cooking into the bin when you think I'm not looking"


	7. Chapter 7 I Want to Hear You Sad

**A/n: On my recepeit, it only says Teddy and the plot.**

**I had a hugely busy week, but I wrote this anyways! For your own enjoyment!**

**Even though this one is kind of depressing.**

**But it's long.**

**So it's a trade-off.**

* * *

**Chpt. 7 I Want to Hear You Sad.**

Agnes tried for the third time to loop the tie through the hole, just like the instructions said. Every time she tried to do it, the wrong side was hanging out.

"You know when you concentrate, your tongue hangs?" Sirius chimed in at the perfect time, when she pulled the tie through the hole making it beautiful for the first time.

Even in a tent, in the middle of James' father's land, Agnes still did a congratulations dance for herself. Granted, there were no other people, besides Sirius, in the tent at the moment, but still. She was too proud of herself to be embarrassed.

"I just think someone is nervous," She replied, straitening her baby blue summer, trying to erase all evidence of doing something that made her dress wrinkle.

"Oh, says the girl who took two hours to decide what to do with her hair," Sirius said, fixing his cuffs.

"Hey! This is my first wedding; I wanted to make sure she had good pictures of _everyone_ to remember the day by."

Lily and James were finally getting married, and it was a glorious day to do it. A mid November wedding, England was experiencing an Indian summer and James' land was covered in four tents. One was the largest, and in the true middle of the huge country-side land, obviously holding all the guests and was where the ceremony would be held. The two others were where the brides' maids and grooms' men would be getting married. The last was where the bride was getting ready, although Agnes was quite confident in knowing that she was already dressed, and that she was just trying to calm herself down.

Sirius and Agnes were the last to arrive; all the men were with James in the house getting out "final hours of freedom fun". He was pretty angry that his best man was the last one to get there, which meant he would be late to spending those free hours, so Sirius was jittery to get to his friend. He was always jittery, those rare times when he was late. Agnes thought it was odd, because he didn't plan anything _to be_ late too.

"By this point, it might be your last," Sirius laughed, turning to the only furniture in the tent, an oval body mirror.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked, holding each elbow with a hand covered by a laced tea glove. It was the only time she had been able to wear them, but they were too pretty to pass up.

"Well Moony won't find anyone soon cause he's too shy, and Peter is just awkward all the way around" He said, straightening his tie, getting ready to leave the tent as soon as this conversation was over. "Unless, it's for, you know us."

"Oh," Agnes mused at his joking expression. At least she hoped it was joking. "And you're that confident in our relationship?"

"And you're not?" He stopped fidgeting, truly focusing on her. She blushed a little, looking down towards her elbows.

"No, no, no! I didn't mean it like that," Agnes rushed "I just meant you never know what can happen!"

"Which is basically like saying you don't see us together in the future." Sirius said, his mood growing darker by the second.

"No! I just, well, I've never been good with divenation!! I can't see into the future, but anything can happen!" She quickly tried to sew the hole she just tore open.

"Wait a minute," He said, looking as if he just got an idea. An awful idea. "You don't see us together because you still are too afraid to fall in love."

Agnes stood for a minute, starring at him as if he were a silent, foreign movie she was trying to decipher. His face was falling fast and her life was slowly crumbling.

Of course he knew about her past experiences with the gypsies. They had practically told each other everything. She just didn't expect it to come up ever again.

"Let's not talk about it here," She said, as calmly as she could.

"So it is true! You truly don't want to be with me for the rest of your life because you're afraid!" He laughed crudely loud. Sirius tended to be loud when he was angry.

"I said; let's not talk about it here" Agnes repeated, slower and a little louder than the last time. Unlike Sirius, she was quiet when she was angry, until finally everything spewed out. It seriously was the calm before the storm.

"Oh no! Let's talk about it here! I mean, you obviously are comfortable with commitment enough to come to a wedding, so I want to know where your comfort stops. Unless, it's of course, you're just using me for your own sick pleasure!" Sirius almost shouted. "What kind of human being puts another through this shit? I must be the saint of patience to even be near you!"

"I SAID," Agnes was now shouting, losing space between her and Sirius. "LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT IT HERE! This is your best friend's wedding, and you want to get mad at me! How selfish are you, putting your self before your friend and celebrating his match!"

Agnes stormed out of the tent, fully aware that everyone must of heard them yelling at each other, but not caring. She made it through the largest tent, not bothering to look at who was awkwardly trying to cover the fact they had just listened to her personal life explode, and sat in the last seat.

Lily and her weren't best friends, but she was invited separately from Sirius because they had become a form of friends. Their loved ones were best friends, of course, causing them to grow a little closer than in school.

Agnes sat through the whole ceremony, focusing on the bride and groom, deciding that she would never be up there like them. Happy like them. Lucky like them. But she would be happy for them. And wish them luck. Because someone in the world had to have love, even if she didn't.

* * *

I held in my tears for a whole week. I went to Madam Menkins, took in sizes and tailored bratty kids with the finest fabrics. I cooked myself spaghetti every night and went to bed at 9 PM, not bothering to set my alarm clock because I knew I'd wake up at 5:56 anyways. I kept calm and straight minded for a week.

Until Lily and James came back from their honeymoon.

When Lily made sure James had gone to work, to make up lost honeymoon time, I came over and drained every large lake swelling up inside of me. I tried to talk between each sob, but it came out muffled, but Lily like the saint she really is, waited for me to calm down.

"He…I really messed up this time" I said finally, sniffling into a tissue. "Everything he said was t-t-true. I-I'm horrible an-and se-self-ish."

"No you're not, Teddy" She said understandingly, patting my back on the new couch she got as a wedding gift. She didn't know about my past like Sirius, but she understood the same. "You're young and still have a full life ahead of you! As does Sirius, you weren't meant to get married this early."

"B-b-but you and-d James di-did!" I said, more tears falling down my cheeks.

"Well," Lily said, getting a secretive smile on her face. She had had that look on her face for a while, but who could blame her. "James and me are different from you and Sirius like night and day. I don't doubt, though, that you two love each other"

Her voice was very reassuring, but I still felt like awful was circulating in my body instead of blood.

"I've screwed it up," I said, for the first time not stuttering from crying "There's no way he'd take me back"

"If you were meant to be," Lily paused, making me look at her instead of my lap that was covered in tissues "You'll get him back. James got me, didn't he?"

She got that smile on her face again.

"Yes," I hesitated "But it took 6 years!"

"Well, if it's true love," She looked down at her fingers, unconsciously making her ring sparkle in the relatively dark room. "Time won't matter."

* * *

"Sirius" I knocked on his door, hoping he'd answer, and having no other plan than that.

There was a muffled sound behind the door; I took it as "come in".

The door was unlocked, and behind it was Sirius staring at a blank wall from his couch. How long he was there, I had no idea, and why he was doing nothing, I didn't have a clue to either. I had only been in his apartment one other time, but it was still amazingly large. He bought it, he said, with some of the money a dead uncle left him. But that was about the only thing he bought with the money, the apartment was still pretty bare.

I sat on one side of the couch, keeping my coat on. I felt that if I moved too much, something horribly wrong would happen, even if the inner, well mannered girl screamed that it was rude to walk into a home uninvited, plus not take off my coat.

Sirius just stared straight ahead.

I fumbled with my fingers still in the knitted gloves I received for my birthday last October.

"I'm sorry," I finally started, staring intently at my fingers. Part of me knew that the only reason I didn't look up was to not catch Sirius not even paying attention me. The other part wanted to say I was too nervous to look at him. "It's just, well…it's just I am still afraid."

He still stared.

"I grew up thinking that I would never have someone like you in my life," I continued, hoping to receive some kind of motion. "And, and I do love you. I do. But I just can't undue everything I've thought before meeting you, within a matter of months."

I swore he rolled his eyes. Or something. I knew he moved. But instead of encouraging me to go on, I just got more nervous.

"I'm willing to try, though, to undue it. I'm willing to be vulnerable and love you and be totally honest." This time I had my full eye sight on him. I felt my eyes welling up and I wanted him to just look this way. "I'm willing, if you are."

It took a few minutes for him to finally speak, for him to finally look at me. His eyes were dry, his face wan of emotion. It was like staring at an alien.

"I can't wait for you."


	8. Chapter 8 Shadowplay

**A/N: don't own a thing! NOTHING! Okay well some things. But you get my drift.**

**So I got really bored tonight. And that's why this little sucker was born. (Like many things in this chapter raises eyebrows repeatedly)**

**It's pretty long, and I'm not sure if it's as sad as the last part, but I hope not. I mean things being born raises eyebrows again like this chapter are celebrations!**

**Dah. I've gotta go before I become too cliche for myself.**

**P.S. I love those who reviewed!**

* * *

I cried my eyes out like someone died.

I walked around like a zombie.

And I used my mouth as much as a mute.

Lily was worried about me, thought that I'd pull myself out of the hole soon enough. At first she tried to help me, but then in March she found out she was two months pregnant, and I told her she had more to worry about than me. Reluctantly she got used to the smile she held back in November around me again, and I got used to stepping outside of my life whenever I visited.

I mean, pregnancy was the best time in a woman's life, and if I wasn't going to be in love with someone to be pregnant with, I might as well embrace my friend that I've grown closer to in a few months.

Besides, nothing's better than pigging out with her while she goes through random cravings.

But Madame Menkins didn't let me off so leniently. When I started working for her, immediately I let her know my desires of entrepreneurship and she knew that I'd probably be gone with my own shop within a few months, but June was closing in fast and that would mean I was working for her for a year.

She hated seeing me so idle, although she rarely asked what caused it. Madame Menkins said that I should be looking at real estate, pricing out everything, getting my life started, but I was content in her shop until I found something to get me motivated.

So here I was, alone, with one best friend that could win the happiest award for the year.

* * *

At 7 pm on July 31, while Agnes Buey was softly caressing the motion of sleep on her couch in front of the TV, an alarm sounded throughout her apartment.

It still smelled of fish, and her stuff now was hastily thrown askew, but in that moment, Agnes shot up out of her bed and slipped on the closet sweatshirt she could find to go to the hospital.

This was finally it. Lily was having her kid and Agnes needed to get there as fast as she could. There was no way she'd miss it, there was no way she'd stand the lashing she'd get for missing it.

Not caring that she hadn't even tied on her low-top converse, or that her pajama bottoms were stripes while the sweatshirt she grabbed had polka- dots on them, she appareted to St. Mungo's.

Rushing to the counter in the oddly laid back reception room, Agnes grasped,

"I need-I need to see Lily Potter, um she's having baby!"

The receptionist looked at Agnes as if she was the fiftieth person to tell her that, and before she could even open her gum-chewing mouth, a loud pop erupted into the room.

Sirius Black stood in front of Agnes, looking just as handsome as ever. Although, Agnes thought for the brief moment where she didn't realize why or where she was, he looked like complete and utter rubbish. His hair was dishelved and his eyes were more gaunt than normal, but Agnes put that off to lack of sleep or hard day at work. There was no way she could cause his poor look; he obviously made clear of that the last night they spoke.

Sirius just looked at Agnes for a second, then turned sharply to the receptionist.

"Lily Potter, she's having a baby,"

And without even asking a question, Agnes and Sirius got the only answer that mattered.

"Level 6, room 602"

* * *

We waited.

And we waited.

And we waited.

If I hadn't had a younger sister when I was ten, and if I hadn't remember staying at the hospital for ten hours straight because there was no babysitter at 2 o'clock in the morning willing to get me at the time and if she didn't end up being the smallest baby I've ever seen, I would've thought that Lily was having a sumo wrestler for a child.

I squatted, resting my back against the wall, my hands clasped near my face.

Sirius paced like I expected James to in the actual room, that didn't allow anyone who wasn't related.

He didn't look at me for a second time. Well not that I know of.

He just paced and left me feeling the most uncomfortable I ever have.

But that was fine. Because I am moving on. I'm a Buey, right? We don't get hung up on silly mutli-month relationships. We marry people we meet on trains and then forget to invite our middle and smartest child because "school got in the way", to the wedding.

But then again, I wasn't even supposed to fall in love on that train to begin with, and here I am, with my ex waiting for a baby to come.

After what seemed like forever, James burst through the doors, with the heaviest smile that's ever been presented.

"Harry, he's here!" He about burst, ushering us into the room.

Speed walking to the middle of the room, where all the nurses were gathered around, we stopped at Lily's bedside where a crying baby laid in her arms.

Not even saying a word, just looking up at James, Sirius and me, we could all tell what she was trying to express. And that spread to all of us.

Giggling like school children, the nurses left a few towels, explained they'd be back to check up on Harry and took off to take care of other patients.

James and Sirius simultaneously combed their fingers through their hair, gasping at the baby in her arms, while I just plain out stared.

I never really expected a full size baby to come, maybe a bag of water, some flour. I didn't really think this far that she'd actually have it. It was sort of sad how I didn't believe she was really going to be a mom, but now that she had a child in her arms I knew it wouldn't be any other way.

"Teddy, you look like you've been shot," Lily laughed, looking up from her baby to me.

"I-you-baby!" I said dumbly, causing everyone to laugh more. Joining in, I just stared in awe.

And that's when I finally realized I was jealous. Of Lily and James, of Harry. They had love and now a child that would love them unconditionally. And I didn't, which was the part that didn't surprise me. What did was that I actually wanted it.

I pushed that to the back of my mind though, I couldn't ruin this for them. Even if I was jealous, Miss Manner's taught me better than to actually show it!

I'd just suppress it till my frustration crushes it to smithereens.

* * *

A few hours and one baby holding session later, the nurses came back to check up on the mom and son, making all us non-relatives leave.

Not meaning to, Sirius and I walked out of the hospital in step, but I turned one way to walk to my apartment while he turned the other. I sighed softly, thinking about how I could get over this rendezvous, if I really tried.

That was until he grabbed my arm unexpectedly, making me twist and hit him with my open hand.

"You never were great with surprises," He laughed, rubbing the check I hit. I awkwardly laughed, standing underneath all the street lamps. "Um…So do you want to get some dinner or breakfast…or something?"

It was funny to me how nervous he was, asking me out. It was funny to me how nervous I was to answer.

But the nervousness didn't help me choose what to do. If I went with him, my jealously might be cured, if I didn't, I wouldn't have to worry about what the gypsies predicted.

Starring up into his eyes, I breathed "Sure."

* * *

It was the best dinner-breakfast I've ever had.

The food sucked, but I didn't expect any more from a local diner that advertised its "services now up to health code".

What made it wonderful, was how easy it was to talk to Sirius. How it felt as if we had never fought, or gone out at all. It was like those blissful months where we were just friends.

And I didn't even think how this would screw up my life. Not once.

Afterwards, filled up with the most disgusting pancakes, we walked around in a dimly lit park. There was squeaking swings and the lights flickered on and off whenever the wind blew across them, but I still felt safe.

And extremely cliché for thinking that I felt safe in the least safe-part of town.

But we were talking, and laughing and just sheer amazed at what our friends had just done.

At a particularly flicker-y lamppost, Sirius just stopped suddenly.

Just a step ahead of him, I stopped and turned back to look at him. But he was doing nothing, not looking around for something suspicious or acting wild like I expected him to; he just was staring back at me.

I was about to ask him why when he swept up close to me, grabbing my checks and pulling me in for a kiss.

Explosion was the only word for that kiss. A pure work of nature, that was both amazing and destructive at the same time.

As if he was paralyzed, he pulled back from me and kept that stare in my eyes.

And then he was gone. He "popped" out.

Leaving me to be paralyzed too, near a flickering lamppost, in the most dangerous part of town, finally feeling unprotected.

And even more cliché for feeling that way.


	9. Chapter 9 Keep the Car Running

**Chpt. 8 Keep the Car Running.**

**I know I know, it's been _forever_. But I'm here now creates a horrible redition of a trumpet.**

**I only own the plot line and my characters.**

**This one is very important, but with some of the sentences I didn't quite know how to phrase them, so if it seems awkward, that is why.**

* * *

Ironically, he was the push I needed. The one man, who stuck in me in a jelly like state of blankness, was the one man who shot me out of it with full speed.

That night I didn't bother going back to my apartment, no. It didn't matter that it was almost 3 in the morning, that the sun hadn't even greeted the early bird who was going to catch the worm, yet. I didn't go back to my apartment because I had the instinct to buy a property that I had seen by force of Madame Menkins.

She'd taken me to see it one fatally boring day, the day after the Hogwarts train left, and almost pushed me into the building in Hogsmeade. If I had bought, much to her delight, I would have had both the store and the apartment above it.

If Madame Menkins had become a real estate agent, she would be the one getting tailored into the finest robes.

But I still didn't buy.

Until at 5 AM, November 1st, respectively waiting outside of the store until the owner woke up. To be honest, he was quiet astonished to see a girl in a sweatshirt and pajamas, waiting in the morning frost with no ounce of sleepiness, coffee jitters, or shivers. After I signed the papers, he confessed to me he thought I was mad, but that he didn't expect anyone to be normal to buy his property. Apparently "too much had happened there for anyone in their right mind to buy it".

He never told me "what happened there" or what state of mind he thought I was in, but he didn't want to tell me that before I signed, as to not offend me. It didn't matter. Like the number of hours I had been awake, I was being fueled on full instinct, not thinking about anything but where I would set up my counter for the sales or what I would eat for the first few months, seeing as I had spent most of my money buying this place.

It didn't matter, none of that did. It didn't matter that I was basically poor and stupid for making a rash decision, it didn't matter than Madame Menkins would gloat in my face when I gave my leave of absence, and it definitely didn't matter that Lily would smile like she always did, but this time she had a reason to smile for me.

But the only thing that truly didn't matter, was that I wouldn't see Sirius for a long time.

* * *

And it was a year that I had gone without seeing his face.

For that past year I had had my shop closed, sanding and painting the walls a periwinkle blue, making two boys who had come down from Hogwarts to set my desk/counter near the opposite wall of the door, and the ceiling high shelves on the remaining walls (which I had completely forgot my magical abilities, explaining why I didn't use it to set the desk and shelves myself) and actually make my product.

I had taken trips often throughout the woods near Hogsmeade, almost so much so that I can walk through it with my eyes closed and still not be lost, to get materials like flowers and leaves that I could transfigure into jewelry. Who knew Professor McGonagol's lessons would come in handy? I had to bronze or gold plate all of them before I even thought about putting them near a person's neck, and it was easier to transfigure them than do it manually. I decided if I had more time later in my entrepreneurship, I would do it by hand, but right now I had to make up my money spent.

I had grown quite accustomed to seeing Rosemerta every day; she would give me a discount on food because I was right across the street, and for a change didn't make sexist remarks. She laughed after saying that, because she never did expect them from me anyways.

I opened my shop in the fall, about two weeks before the anniversary of my spending, on a Hogsmeade weekend. I knew I'd get more customers if I waited till a Hogsmeade weekend for the school kids, so I waited for that week to come.

Upfront, the large window that took up the space not taken up by the door had a stenciling of the shop name, "Teddy's Jewels" with a brown teddy bear and sparkling emerald eyes. Rosemerta offered to stencil it on; apparently she had art training at some point and was skilled enough to make it move much like stuffed bear would with a flick of her wand.

I didn't sleep at all the day before I opened up my shop, and was praying to someone's God when I first unlocked the door and prepared to work on another piece of jewelry instead of watching to door for a customer.

And it took a while for someone to come in. I almost was ready to lock back up my door when the squeak of the bell above the door rang through the room and a reluctant duo of girls came into my shop. The shelves held their own earring trees, bracelet holders that looked like Teddy bears or plastic necks used for necklaces. There were a few individual block islands scattered through the store for the special pieces that took longer to make.

The girls half smiled as my head rose quickly to see who'd come in, and then ventured toward a shelf to take a peek at what I had crafted.

I had made my first sale that day, along with my second, third and fourth. And I had my first reservation. It was better than I expected and practically ran to Rosemerta's to tell her the news at dinner time. I offered to pay full price too.

The next fortnight, though, was very slow. I knew that most of my customers would be teenage girls or their boyfriends very confused on what to get them as a gift. But it was disappointing to see only a maximum of four people a day, with no guarantees of a sale. Rosemerta told me this would happen, and explained that in only the food business was customers almost always guaranteed.

Still my high off my first day of sales was slowly wearing down.

It wasn't until late in the night of the 31, the night I planned to arrive at Lily's to condone "happy birthdays" to Harry (even though most likely he was asleep), that I was stimulated.

"Teddy!" Rosemerta practically screamed outside of my door, while I hide the money in the cash register and had my keys ready in hand to lock my shop up the old fashion way.

"One moment," I called, setting the money in a safe box under the stairs that led to my apartment.

"No, Teddy! This is important!" She yelled back.

Knowing her, I closed my box as carefully as I did every night and walked out of my store with no urgency to find out what the latest price was or the latest change in the Minsity, coat in hand.

The first thing she did after giving me a sour look, was shove a newspaper in my hands, making my coat fall the ground.

The first thing I did after giving her a sour look was read the headline, expecting something ridiculous.

How I wished it was something ridiculous, though.

I stared at the newspaper, I stared and I didn't do anything else.

"**Harry Potter has defeated He Who Must Not Be Named.**

**Parents killed in action."**

"He…he's dead?"

"Yes!" Rosemerta beamed "Isn't it wonderful? Something as innocent as a child was the only master to him!"

"And they're…they're dead?" I whispered, obviously not audible because she never answered me. Instead she flipped the newspaper over and pointed to another headline with much enthusiasm.

"And isn't that just as surprising?" She asked, expecting me to read it.

"**Sirius Black to go on trail for selling information of Lily and James Potter and the murder of Peter Petigrew"**

An old picture of him was used, where he was smiling frantically than tickling someone out of view, the Daily Prophet obviously chopped out the person. I had a feeling it was me though, because I had a copy of that picture stashed under my bed in a suitcase I never did bother to open.

That was when I fell, or floated rather slowly, to the ground landing miraculously on my coat.

"Are you okay?" Rosemerta called just as urgent and enthused as two seconds before. I tried to answer, I seriously did. But it seemed as if the newspaper had stolen my tongue and was playing hacky-sac with it. "Are you just shocked?"

And for the sack of not complicating things (I never did tell her about me and Sirius), I just shook my head.

"Well, do get up soon, they expect a rain tonight! But how, on such a glorious one? I must get back; customers will be flooding in to celebrate soon! He Who Must Not Be Named is dead!" She rang through the streets one last time before entering her store.

If people did go in to celebrate, I didn't notice. I didn't notice the sound of the cheering come out whenever the door swung forward or the "expected rain" that apparently did happen because when I finally got up enough composure to go back inside, I left puddles.

All I did know was that it wasn't possible for Sirius to do that.

I hoped.


	10. Chapter 10 New Soul

**A/N: By now, you all should know what I own and what I don't!**

**Aww! I love getting reviews. I know I never ask for any, and it has nothing to do with my post scheduling, but it helps. All who have reviewed so far, or added me to their favorites and/or alerts, you make my heart smile!**

**Even though that sounds like it's riddled with cliche.**

**Oh well.**

**I have a prediction though, the ended will make all my faithful hearts smile.**

**Chpt. 10 New Soul**

**(P.s. DOUBLT DIGITS!)**

* * *

Monotony became my life. I woke up, opened the store, closed the store and ate in between then. I didn't mind it, either. I had safety; I had knowledge about what I was going to do.

Sure I picked up some hobbies, like my walks about Hogsmeade and reading whenever it was freezing. I developed more tastes for art than I ever have before, and I spent more time with Rosemerta at the pub that I didn't feel as antisocial any more.

The shop did pick up, I had regulars. The girls who knew what they wanted, and who put jewelry on hold for their mothers and aunts for Christmas. And the friends of those girls. Those boyfriends, who came only during Christmas, Valentine's Day and a few random anniversary days, who clearly had no idea what their girlfriends wanted. I gave a simple guide:

Green eyes-purple and gold

Blue eyes-Orange and teal

Brown eyes- Any color really.

Of course the boyfriends who had girlfriends with brown eyes didn't rejoice.

But I felt as if I was playing cupid. And if I was cupid, I couldn't blame someone for my misfortune in that area.

It was almost like Sirius getting sent to jail affected my life positively. We hadn't been seeing each other when he had been sent, but it was almost like the last chance of us together was ended immediately.

I even got used to calling him Paul in my head. Why Paul? I had no idea. But I knew that if I got used to calling him Paul, a name whom I had no connection to what so ever, I'd eventually become numb to him. It wouldn't seem as pathetic to think about him daily by that name. I wouldn't be as lame if I wanted to visit him again, by the name Paul.

Oh yes, I visited him once.

It was about 3 years ago, a night that Rosemerta convinced me to try fw because someone ordered a ton of food or something.

I felt nauseas and brave and got into my head that visiting him would do something for me. I can't really remember all that I thought that night, because I seriously doubt I thought that much at all.

The minute I reached that island, though, I knew that every feeling I had was replaced with dread. Even without the dementors, I would still feel as depressed as ever, it was raining and the dark castle stretched far into the sky with an un-fairy tale style of gothic.

As I walked to the visitor entrance doors, I felt watched and out of place.

"State your name" An invisible voice commanded.

"Te-Agnes Buey" I said, feeling as if using my nickname would bring more disaster than hearing my real one.

"Business?" It asked, without a feeling.

"Visitor" I stated, slightly shaking. A name tag popped in front of me, flashing until I took it and stuck it to my cream trench coat.

The doors slide open, revealing an elevator with one other human being inside. He seemed bored out of his mind, chewing something and clenched something in his hand.

"Where to?" He said not looking at me, but eyeing the d behind me.

"Pa-Siriues Black" I stuttered, feeling more subconscious than what the fw was supposed to do to me.

The worker then eyed me, with the strangest look and hit a button that took us upwards. I couldn't count the floors, but it seemed that the elevator was extremely slow.

The doors opened, the worker turned to me again, popping something out of the bag into his mouth.

"Down the hall, to the right. You have ten minutes"

"The hall" made it seem short, but it was the long walk to coincide with the elevator. The people in the cells varied from the ones that sat bolt upright in their beds staring at nothing, to the ones that were holding onto the bars for dear life, screaming and staring directly at me.

I wanted to walk faster, but it seemed it was impossible to in that place.

I finally rounded the corner, to what seemed like an empty corridor with one cell. The cell was larger than the others, and the screams of the prisoners were slightly muffled. I thought the cell was for the larger prisoners, like giants, and that the elevator man had played a trick on me.

But inside on the bed was Sirius. A gauntly Sirius. A strange Sirius. He was asleep, and it was out of place for this place. I always imagined a hundred of nights of sleeplessness in this place, but he seemed almost peaceful.

I touched the bars; to…well I had no idea what I would have gained by touching them. Maybe it was to get closer. Maybe it was to feel what he felt when he felt trapped. They were cold.

It seemed though the minute I touched the bars, my name tag started to give me shocks to tell me ten minutes were up. That I had wasted most of the time walking. That I was lucky that I hadn't come when Sirius was awake.

When I had gotten back into the elevator (the walk was much faster), the last thing the man asked me was,

"Why did you see _him?_"

"I'm still trying to figure that out."

* * *

Everyone in Hogsmeade was one edge after the news of Sirius Black's escape. Teddy was more shook up than ever before, her monotony was finally unbalanced. She tried to match the worried-ness of Rosemerta, she still hadn't revealed their intimacy and wasn't planning to.

The Hogsmeade people had gone to Dumbledore the day they found out, to see what he and what they should to for protection, Hagrid had joined them, too. Teddy, Rosemerta, and him had made jokes on the way up to the c about how the Ministry might pass out "How to Deal with a Serial Criminal that Escaped Our "Inescapable" Prison" to lighten the mood, but it didn't help the feeling inside.

Teddy didn't feel vulnerable or unsafe, she never really believed Sirius did the crime he was sent away for, but she felt more paranoid and more insecure. Paranoid, incase Sirius tried to talk to her, and insecure incase he didn't.

But amidst this danger that loomed the town, Teddy had no qualms about feeding the hungry dog that loomed too outside of her shop. She'd seen it a few days before, and it seemed that it was her day to feed him.

It looked familiar to her, but Teddy had a ton of dogs when she was little, so she didn't worry too much about it.

Sitting down on the curb, she held out a piece of chicken she had gotten from Rosemerta earlier that day. Reluctantly, the dog took it, not keeping its eyes off of her.

Eerily, she watched the dog watch her. The feeling of familiarity was more and more evident as she stared at the eyes. Those eyes…

Gasping, she sprang up, making the dog lose its eye contact with her.

Suddenly, she felt paranoid, even though everyone in Hogsmeade had glued their shutters and blinds shut, as if not seeing the Black they imagined made them safe.

The dog pawed at her, almost begging her to stay.

Instead she walked to her door, and left it wide open for a confused dog to slowly walk into her store.

Shutting it, she quickly closed the blinds that she rarely did. She didn't think ignorance of his possible presence would do anything. Besides those blinds were terribly ugly and had a glue charm on them.

The dog transformed. And Teddy stared at him.

Teddy stared at him.

And he stared back.

Making it seem like a dream when he grabbed her into a hug.


	11. Chapter 11 Obstacle Two

**Chpt. 10 Obstacle Two.**

**I know right now you don't really care about my disclaimer. **

**So I shall save this for a much needed "SORRY!"**

**I had a whole ton on my plate.**

**And this is super short so it doesn't make up for anything.**

**But I atleast left you all on a semi-happy note, right?**

* * *

It was the oddest feeling in the world

It was the oddest feeling in the world.

Hell, it was the oddest feeling I'll ever feel, even if I get reincarnated.

But he was here, with me. In the same room and definitely wide awake.

Maybe that's why my heartbeat was four times its normal pace, even if we were just sitting down in my apartment's kitchen/dinning room area.

I wonder if this was considered a work out.

He suggested we go upstairs, because people can easily see through the curtains that I can't get off. I didn't bother to ask how.

In fact, I don't really remember asking or talking to him at all. I just stared, mostly in disbelief that Sirius Black escaped from prison, and ran to me.

Granted it wasn't an instant, fast run. But it was a run none-the-less.

He slowly nursed the tea I had made, that I had luckily found in my cupboards. To be honest I rarely grocery shop any more, but I didn't want to have an excuse to leave him.

And it wasn't because I didn't trust him either. It was because I didn't want to waste our time.

Because we didn't talk, I didn't learn anything new. I just knew that he had the same exact eyes, the same exact mischief lying underneath. I just knew that he wouldn't be the same, but he'd try and I'd be able to accept it just as well.

That is if he wanted to try, or even stay near me.

Before my body crashed into a needed sleep mode, but after I made a bed for Sirius, he spoke one more time.

"I shouldn't have ever left." He sounded truly sorry, truly melancholy and down-right pitiful.

Then I spoke for the first time.

"I shouldn't have given you a reason."


	12. Chapter 12 Gut Feeling

**Chpt. 12 Gut Feeling.**

**Disclaimer is the same as normal, because quite frankly I need to type more important things.**

**Like I am officialy back! After a long time of keeping the word 'mum' and debting whether to come back, I have the whole story planned out in my mind! Fantastic, isn't it?**

**At least, I hope you think it's fantastic. Because my first readers are probably doubting my ability to update and the new readers are probably thinking that I'm nuts.**

**Anyways, I have another story in my head to, but I'll finish this one first. I think I owe that to you.**

It was strange to take care of someone other than myself.

It was strange to go to sleep knowing someone other than myself was in my room.

A convicted felon no less. But he told me that he didn't kill anyone, that everything will be straightened out in due time. My head told me that I was nuts to even serve him dinner with a knife, but my heart told me that I could trust him in a butchers shop.

I usually listened to my heart anyways; it didn't give me such bleak outlooks on life.

But I can't deny that my heart rate has barely dropped below a jogger's beat, and every time someone walked but with a cloak, I freaked out thinking that it was a dementor.

Which happened increasingly now because it was getting colder, but Madame Rosemerta decided to threaten anyone who made fun of my hit the ground technique. I was thankful for that, even though with Sirius Black in my house, I rarely came by and visited.

* * *

The Halloween Hogsmeade trip was upon Teddy and the rest of the store owners, making everyone twice as cheerful as ever. These trips meant more business, more money, more vacations to the Canary Islands.

Students walked in front of her store, occasionally stepping inside to look at the new jewelry Teddy created. More hand crafted, more delicate than ever, she had made some animal inspired pieces just for today's new throng of costumers. The hours of work paid off somewhat already, Heidi who came every trip, had already bought half of the new line.

With a magnifying glass stand that had its own light separating Teddy from a charm in the shape of wombat, she held a fine point paint brush stroking the outlines of the wombat. Quite glad for magic, Teddy was confident in her painting simply because if she messed up, she could quickly un-do it and try again.

A tail thumped against her leg as she worked, almost like it was keeping time. Sirius liked to be with Teddy whenever she worked, said that it was a change of pace from the insides of her apartment (which "had feminity written all over it"). Teddy only agreed he could be there while she worked, was if he was a dog and sat underneath her desk. Her paranoid state was not going to settle down in her own store with him there.

The bell above the door chimed, and Teddy looked up smiling a "Hello" at the costumers.

They were a rather tall, gawky boy and a sheepish looking girl. Sheepish wasn't the right word. Nervous.

Inwardly, Teddy laughed. She'd been in the business of granting girlfriends Valentine gifts too long to not recognize the look of a crush. She just hoped everything worked out.

Standing up, off her stool, Teddy wiped off her painted hands on the half smock tied around her waste. She walked over to where the couple (or at least, the soon to be couple) was, the far right wall where all her necklaces were.

"Gold is much better for brunettes in the winter, I find." Teddy said standing behind them, taller than the girl by only a little, but much shorter than the boy. She held a friendly smile, hoping they wouldn't think she was a freak and just a helpful store owner.

The line was very thin between the two.

"Oh, well, thanks" The girl chirped. "But we're-we're just looking."

"In that case, redheads are much better suited for silver." Teddy winked. "Gold clashes with the complexion"

The boy laughed a little, at least he got it was a joke.

"Well, lemme know if you need any help, I'll be the only one in the store besides you."

She strolled back to her desk to find that Sirius had moved from underneath.

Looking up frantically, she saw the dog had bolted right for the boy and the girl, who were both petting it.

Slightly flabbergasted, and horror struck, Teddy walked back over the couple ready to somehow make Sirius go back under the desk. Or in a perfect world, upstairs. He did not follow her only guideline.

"He's very cute," The girl commented, knees bent to pet the dog.

The boy was still standing straight, his hands gliding over Sirius' back.

"Yes he is, and normally he stays under the desk like he's supposed to" Teddy said, looking sternly at the dog, who stared straight at her. She could tell he was smiling.

The dog then turned his head towards the boy's pocket, as if trying to prod whatever was in them to come out. The boy naturally backed away, looking strange.

"Ron, the dog really likes you" The girl giggled.

"Mmmmyeah, sure. Or he's trying to eat me" He said.

"Don't worry," Teddy faked a smile as she tried to lead the dog towards her. "He's very well fed."

"Harry would've loved a dog," The girl stated as she stood straight again, walking towards Ron. The dog had its body against Teddy's legs, and Teddy was quite sure that the couple would leave, so she'd have time to take him back upstairs.

"It looks an awful lot like the Grimm though; Divination would've made him stay away from that dog as far as possible."

"You sound like you believe that rubbish! The great Harry Potter is going to die because of a harmless dog!" The girl exclaimed as they walked toward the door, the dog was squirming.

"Who would've thought that the death of Scabbers would be because of your bloody cat!"

"That hasn't happened yet!"

"Yet! Yet! You believe he's going to kill Scabbers! But your cat will have to search my entire room for 'im!" Ron said as he opened the door out at the same instance as the dog that bolted out of Teddy's grip and out the door. Sure her own ears were perked because these "costumers" were friends with Harry Potter, but she wasn't about to make them tell her everything.

Before leaving, the girl turned to look at the shocked, dog-less Teddy.

"He needs his running space" She said weakly.

* * *

He didn't tell me where he went, or why he was so angry when he came back, but I didn't really feel like talking to him either.

What he pulled yesterday was so stupid on his part; I didn't want to know anything about what happened.

It was early in the morning as I worked on my wombat piece from yesterday, almost done. Working calmed me, made my mind focus on something other than thinking about what a complete dunderhead he was.

The door opened, much to my surprise. Out of habit, I always unlocked the door and flipped the closed sign to open, even if I woke up at an un-Godly hour. But here were two men walking into my store, heading straight for my desk.

One I never expected to see again, one I had only seen from afar.

"Hello Teddy," Remus said.


	13. Chapter 13 Valerie

**A/n: I'm so tired of typing "I own nothing."**

**And see! I'm back! I'm not a lying overdramatic girl who gets silly facts wrong then is too busy to fix them in her own story.**

**I like this one only because I like writing dialogue...but still I'm not that happy with this. or the last one, I just think they were awkward. But that's 'cause I haven't written anything in a while, I need to get back on the horse.**

**And FYI my reference to the song Valerie, is the verison from Mark Ronson and Amy. Not the Zutons. Although both a excellent, the brass section is just to die for.**

**Chtp. 13 Valerie.**

**(ooo unlucky numero trece)**

* * *

"H-hello" I managed to stutter out, my hands dropping the wombat back onto the table.

I hoped that the paint wasn't screwed up; I couldn't take my eyes off of the two men in front of me, though.

And I was quite glad that Sirius stayed upstairs today.

"It's good to see you again," Remus smiled, trying to ease my nerves. "I think you remember Severus."

And as he pointed to the rather grumpy looking man beside him, I knew that he'd have to smile a million times before my nerves were calmed.

"What-what have you two been up to?" I asked, trying to sound as polite as I could without shaking. "You know, I haven't really talked to anyone from school since…well in a long time."

"That's what we're here for," He smiled again, magic-ing himself two chairs in front of my desk as I sat back down. "But I think a nice cup of tea is best before the seriousness."

"Is this really necessary?" Severus snarled, as Remus drew up a tea kettle and three cups, pouring everyone a little.

"Tea always calms the soul, Severus" Remus winked. "Plus it gives our hands something to fiddle with when there's nothing to say.

"Severus here has been the potions master at Hogwarts for, oh, a couple of years, right?"

He nodded, still grumpily.

"And I just got a post this year-"

"You did? And you didn't come and visit me?" I asked automatically.

"Oh I would have visited you, Teddy, but I didn't realize you were here until last night's little upset."

"Upset?" My hand was stirring my tea, subconsciously. I wondered if this had anything to do with Sirius.

And then I wondered how it could not have had anything to do with Sirius.

He was a convicted felon.

An innocent one. But convicted nonetheless.

"Well, we got to the point quicker than I imagined," Remus laughed nervously.

"Stop beating around the bush, Lupin" Severus said. "Sirius Black went into the castle last night"

"He did?" I said furrowing my eyebrows.

"Yes and tried to get into the Gryffindor Tower"

"How did no one see this?"

"That's why we're here," Remus said not looking at me. "To see if you knew."

"Why would I know?"

And it was both of their "Are you ridiculously stupid?" stares that made me realize. My heart throbbing in my throat, how could I have thought it safe at my place for my ex to habitat?

Forming my mouth in an "o", they continued.

"I must admit I'm quite surprised when no one questioned you from the Ministry, when he first escaped." Remus told me, sounding almost guilty. "You were his _only_ visitor."

I felt as if all my sins were being thrown up on a jumbotron and I watched.

Which was crazy because most of my sins didn't have that much to do with Sirius. I mean I lied to my mother about how many cookies I had as a child practically every day.

So why these people who were only interested in Sirius made me feel like **all** my sins were coming out, was a mystery to me.

"I-I wanted to see…to see him, to see if he really was the… monster everyone said he was." I said, mentally begging Sirius not to come down the stairs. The thumping my throat was rather annoying.

"And you haven't had any other contact with him since then?" Severus asked, looking rather bored. As if this was a waste of time. I wish I thought of this as a waste of time.

"I didn't really contact him then, either." I saw their confused faces. "He was asleep."

"And you're quite sure you haven't had any contact with him since he escaped?" Remus looked at me as if he knew. I gulped, and then said a most definite, but convincing lie.

"Yes."


	14. Chapter 14 Walk the Line

**Chpt. 14 Walk the Line**

**I don't know why I wrote this quite frankly. I haven't written anything in awhile, but alas here we are! **

**I guess it'd be a little too late to say sorry, though.**

**I don't own anything but Teddy/plot.**

**I can't wait till I get past this sad love part though, it's dragging....**

* * *

As soon as I saw they were out of sight, and as soon as I got my "Closed" sign up on the door, I sprinted up the stairs to my apartment two at a time. I haven't done that since I got the flu from one of the kids I tailored, left the store early and had to make it to my former flat before Mini Wheats would end up being the new complementary color for the hall carpet. It was incredibly loud then, it was incredibly loud now.

Which is why I did not understand how, once I got into my bedroom, Sirius was asleep on my bed. He normally slept on a cot in my room, a thing he insisted upon even though I was more than willing to give up my own bed. He was my guest, right?

My feelings, though, prevented my manners of waking him up gently. Of all the things he could have done last night and not tell me about, he went up to the castle? He went up to the castle and tried to get into the Gryffindor tower?

Either he was the stupidest man I've ever seen or…no; there is no "or". He is the stupidest man I've ever seen to try to sneak into the most guarded place on this Earth.

Out of habit, Sirius jerked awake clenching his fists ready to fight for his freedom.

Sternly I stood above him, arms crossed, as it began to rain outside.

"Wha-"He began to ask, but I interrupted quickly.

"Care to share why the hell you went up to Hogwarts last night?" I asked.

Sirius sat up rapidly, wide awake. "How did you find out?"

"Remus and Severus just came here to ask me if I've seen you! Of course I lied, I'm not stupid" I added to calm his worried expression off his face. I don't know why, I'm supposed to be angry at him…"But it's the principal! Remus was my friend, my friend, and I lied to him! About something that caught me so off guard I was prepared to puke on them right then and there!"

"Since when has Remus not been my friend?" He said with enough anger to match mine. "Since when have you spent 13 years as a prisoner with the knowledge that everyone has turned their back on you?"

I went speechless, trying to find my words.

"That's right, you haven't. And you probably never will, so don't try to get me to feel guilty about you getting caught off guard when I feel guilty enough." Sirius stood up amidst this, my arms still crossed in front of me, this time defensively.

He was right. And I wasn't. But I felt as if I still had a right to be mad. Maybe it was the woman in me.

There was a moment or two where we avoided eye contact before I broke the silence.

"I…I was worried about you." I confessed, finally looking Sirius in the eyes. "If I lost you again…"

He looked back into mine, confusion flooding his. To be frank, we hadn't talked about our relationship since he walked through the door – no love-y dove-y "How I've missed you" sessions under my roof.

And I've already lost him according to my tally three times, how would it be any different now?

But nothing was explained at this moment, no exponential epiphany reached my brain; instead he grasped me into the tightest hug. His head relaxed into my hair, mine on his shoulder.

* * *

Teddy no longer avoided Sirius' planning, or the things he thought while she worked in the day. She heard his need to get into the boys dorm, and even suggested some ideas of her own that he normally found holes within.

She never did quite learn why he needed to get into the dorms and how he was innocent, but Teddy was tired of doubting. She was tired of looking back on her life and thinking about what could have been what should have been. She knew she needed to go forward and Sirius was right there in her path.

Not that Teddy didn't doubt her path – the prophecy was still buzzing in the back of her mind. After all she had lost Sirius 3 times before, maybe this was fate. She didn't know, and if it was fate, it would happen accordingly.

Teddy was there when he failed for the second time to get in, when he actually saw his old friends but couldn't see them, when he got fed up, with a hug and some tea.

Not with a kiss, though, never with anything that resembled a loving couple. Sirius was too focused on his plan, he told her. He knew was too one-tracked to give her his best, he said. It tore her heart each time a little, if he knew this than why did he even stay so that she'd see him each day?

Teddy rarely slept anymore, either. Too many curiosities that she was too afraid to speak out loud crowded her brain and her work was the only thing she could do to get away from it all.

At 11 PM one particular night, she was painting a leaf she stiffened with gold paint she found in an old Muggle shop. Her door was unlocked, but had the "Closed" sign up when she heard the door open.

"I'm closed," Teddy began when she drew her eyes up. Remus.

"I'm sorry; I just saw the lights on." He said with the smile he always wore.

"Oh no, its fine, I just thought you were looking to buy," I said laying my paint brush down. "You know, even if you were to buy, I wouldn't mind. Money is money…But why do I have a 'Closed sign'?"

Remus laughed slightly, drawing up a chair like the last instance. They sat in silence for a while. Teddy knew Sirius wouldn't come down, he was asleep; a place he was completely free.

"Why did you come here?" She asked, looking at the wan man before her. They were friends; it was true, but not the best. Not the type to keep on past school.

"Do you ever miss the past?" He riddled back. Teddy altered her eyebrows slightly – when didn't she? "If you had the opportunity to reconnect with it, wouldn't you?"

Is that what she was doing by letting Sirius stay? No she did love him, but couldn't that be a side motive?

"Am I really that much apart of your past? We only knew each other our last year…"She laughed. He matched it.

"The smallest part could be the biggest piece."


	15. Chapter 15 IWantYou

**Chpt. 15 I_Want_You**

**A/N: Can you believe it? HERE I AM! I kind of really like this chapter. I dunno, maybe it's because it is less melodramatic....**

**Disclaimer-I really hate typing out I own nothing. It's just as depressing each time.**

**The letter may seem awkward, it was hard to write. Feel free to read and rate.**

**I keep meaning to mention that I got it terribly wrong in the first few chapters when I mention Harry's birthday. How could I possibly think it's in October? HOW? **

**Oh and I have two ideas, one story about Snape and one about George. Which one would you be the most interested in?**

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The rain hammered against the window, a thunderstorm was hovering over this town as if it were on vacation. My nerves were on edge, as they usually are during thunderstorms (big noises repulse me) and it didn't help that I had to beware for the demeantors, too.

Sirius Black just failed for the second time trying to get whatever he was trying to get from Hogwarts.

And for the second time he failed to tell me what.

But I wasn't the jealous type, was I? I wasn't the curious, nosy, irritable girl who secretly enjoyed her loved one's failure because they failed her in the first place? No, of course not, that would be ridiculous.

And cruel.

Moving from my sitting position on my bed, I flopped on my stomach almost as close to edge as I could, leaning my upper body downwards too the floor. I lifted up my sheets to reveal an upside down dog face underneath my bed, with those unmistakable eyes.

"You do realize what you've done is stupid, right?" I asked over the thunder clap.

He just glared.

"You do realize you can't go back to the castle anymore, right?" This time Sirius responded with a bark that sounded more like a "Why?"

Of course I understood dogs, in a non-tell-tale-sign-that-I'm-a-spinster way.

"You failed twice," To which he just glared. "You need a new tactic to get whatever you're trying to get."

This bark sounded more like "Go on!"

"Well," I thought for a moment "Why don't you get that bloody cat of yours to bring it out to you instead of you getting it?"

The lights flickered, well the little lights that there were. Even though I hated thunderstorms, I never doused my rooms with light; I tried to make them as enjoyable as possible. Like a laser light show of sorts.

Sirius crawled forward on his paws then gave my face a big lick.

If I were desperate for any romantic ties between us, I'd count this as our first kiss since he got out.

Good thing I wasn't desperate.

* * *

As the day grew on, Teddy got more worried. Sirius wasn't back yet, even though it was well after 9. Normally in the afternoon, he would wonder the grounds (something that took ages to persuade Teddy on) looking for that cat. But he would always come back an hour later, and now it had been three.

Waiting outside, she sat on the curb facing the Pub. Rosemerta walked outside from said pub with an odd look on her face.

"Teddy?" She asked, as if it were hard to believe Teddy was in the flesh.

Teddy lifted her eyes.

"Well you're a sight for sore eyes! Someone has a man in their life, to be such a ghost!"

"You could say that," Teddy led on, her eyes straining up and down the street, looking for a dog. The look on Rosemerta's belonged to a soap opera star's face, so much so that Teddy was too afraid she's explode from zealously if she didn't add on. "We dated when we were younger, but I'm only helping him with something."

"Whatever you say, doll." She said, wrapping her arms around her. "Anyways, I came to see you to make sure you were okay, you know they did only just catch Sirius Black up at the castle."

She said this so matter of fact-ly that Teddy stuttered. "Th-they did?"

"Oh yes, Dumbledore owled me about two turns ago" Rosemerta looked behind her at her door, which was exploding with noise. "Do be careful, you have no idea what kind of crazies followed that man. I'm sorry to cut this short, must dash to save those drunkards from drowning themselves!"

With that, she turned on her heel, yelling a "Don't break the good glass!" into the pub.

Teddy stared up at the castle unbelievingly. He was away from her, again. Even with her ingenious plan preventing him from getting caught, he still managed it. It befuddled her.

But just as depression from settling in and the shock was moving out, a letter landed in Teddy's lap with a hoot from the owl up above.

Stumbling into her store and drawing her window shades shut, she ripped open the letter.

**Dear Agnes,**

**I know, I'm stupid. I got managed to get caught after your ingenious plan to prevent that, I'm sorry. I'm sorry to cause you any worry and I'm sorry if you are found out about in this whole ordeal, although I won't be the one to out you. I'm a pretty trustworthy kind of guy. **(Teddy rolled her eyes as she read.)

**You shouldn't worry, either. Harry and Hermoine happen to know how to help an escaped convict escape once again, and this is how I'm writing to you now. I'm afraid I won't come back though to say goodbye and don't have the faintest idea of when we'll meet again - well in human form that is.**

**I wish I could come back, don't think any different. I wish I could explain everything to you myself, but under the circumstances it'd probably be a bad idea. You'd complain about how I'll get myself caught third time and you'll tragically go nuts over the loss of one dashing Sirius Black. I don't want to leave you in the dark anymore, though, about this whole situation. Remus will come tomorrow to tell the truth, and you can just pretend my head on his body.**

**One last thing before my escape plan is in full effect. **(Teddy held her breath.) **I love you. I love you like you never left and I never went to prison. I love you like this whole thing was a dream and we're still seventeen. I love you Agnes Theodora Buey and I always will.**

**Yours truly,**

**Sirius.**

* * *

Teddy was hard at work when Remus stepped into her store. She didn't seem to hear it, though, concentrating on whatever charm was in her fingers this time. Teddy hadn't slept much during the night, worries and pure giddiness flooded through her body the entire time. Around 2 AM, she decided to work.

Perhaps she could cough off his getting caught to a silly day dream brought on by too much work - although Teddy knew in the back of her mind that this was not even remotely possible.

"Ahem," Remus said to get her attention, instead causing Teddy to fidget so much that the charm slipped out of her fingers.

"I'm sorry- I didn't mean to scare you," Remus rushed, his hands automatically reaching forwards to help Teddy. Once he realized that there was a magnifying class preventing him from that, he let his hands down by his sides, letting Teddy clean up the mess with a flick. "Long night?"

"The longest," Teddy responded, putting her wand back onto the desk by her paint brush. She leaned on her elbows, peering up at Remus.

"I hear you got a hold of something to take you back to your past." R grinned sadly. Teddy grinned sadly back.


	16. Chapter 16 Bruises

**Chpt. 16 Bruises.**

**A/n: from now on, it's just going to be understood that I own nothing!**

**I'm not going to lie, I do enjoy getting reviews and what not. Especially when trying to decide what story to put up...I don't mean to pressure you, but consider me saying "I AM PRESSURING YOU!"**

**Next one will be a Holiday Special and I'm super excited.**

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She received many more letters throughout the summer, although no real human being ever accompanied them. The birds never stayed the same, either. Not that Teddy minded the birds were pretty; it was just tough not knowing where he was after he finally re-admitted his love.

Teddy tried not to think about it, though. Right after she received the first letter, she couldn't sleep for days, which left her very cranky. Now, instead, she'd read the letters in the morning, no matter when she got them. 4 in the afternoon ones would wait until 6 AM to be opened, that way she could digest it all during the day and save her nights for sleeping.

Teddy still had very weird dreams about trolls.

* * *

The first Hogwarts trip of the year, I had more jewelry in my store than ever before. Of course that made all of my loyal customers very happy, putting on hold all of their favorite pieces that simply "belonged" with their mums right away. That's what I loved about my loyals; they always knew where my jewelry belonged even if I didn't. I was always their first stop, too, filling me up with as much useless gossip that I couldn't even use if I knew more kids at Hogwarts.

Plus the Tri-Wizard Tournament equaled a lot more customers.

It wasn't until 5, the time when most students headed back, that I got two tall gawky boys and a girl that seemed familiar. Come to think of it, the tallest boy seemed rather familiar, too.

I was staring at them quite un-apologetically, trying to figure where I knew them from behind my desk. AHA! The boy and girl were in here last year, they were friends of Harry…

…Which meant that the other boy was…oh wow.

How could he have gotten that tall? Was it possible for babies to even grow at all? I should have stopped staring ages ago, but I just couldn't control my eyes.

Of course, they felt themselves being watched, and eyed me like I was completely off my rocker and huddled over by the window selection.

Lowering my eyes, my cheeks flushed slightly, I looked at the tax recites in front of me. It was almost the first of the month and I felt like I haven't paid for anything in ages. The numbers mocked me as I tried to divide 89 by 4.

"Ahem," I heard a couple minutes later, my eyes being averted upwards off of the numbers. "I'd like to buy this."

The girl was holding out one of my necklaces with a golden swirl on it.

"Oh right, right, I'm a store." I said quickly getting out a box, muttering the last bit more to myself than anyone else. Apparently they had heard though, because one of the boys snorted.

I took the necklace and laid it gently into the box, putting some tissue paper in before putting on the lid and tying a ribbon on it.

The girl held out the change, and we had an awkward moment of exchange. After receiving a "Thanks", I sunk my eyes downward again to submerge myself into numbers. Honestly, how does anyone find pleasure in these things?

When I didn't hear the door open again, though, I knew something was up. After mulling it over in my mind, I decided I needed a break anyways, and slowly cast my eyes on the three teenagers who looked like they were fighting over something among themselves.

"Do you need help to find an exit?" I asked a little bitterly, but that's what math did to me. "Because I know sometimes, if you look at it in just the right angle, the door seems to blend in with the rest of the glass."

"Oh no," The girl replied quickly, throwing the boy whom I assumed was Harry a hard glance. "We were just wondering…wondering,"

H looked a little anticipant and blurted "How you know Sirius Black."

My eyes immediately bulged, causing the teenagers to look as if I killed their parents.

"You are Teddy Buey? You are the store owner, right?" The redhead said urgently.

"What? Oh yeah, yeah that's me." I said. "It's just no one has the courage to ask such a question in a public place."

Quickly flicking my wand, the door locked and the shades were drawn.

"Now, what is it that you want to know?" I questioned, leaning my chin on my propped up hands. The papers were probably getting crinkled, but that didn't matter. They caught my attention.

"How you know Sirius Black," Harry said a little annoyed.

"First things first, how do you know Sirius Black?" Truth be told, I felt like a four year old, avoiding an easy question such as this. But I'd feel terrible if he really wasn't Harry and I was completely wrong at knowing who all these kids were.

Granted-ly, they all gave me a look of "You're mad, woman."

"Uh," The boy whom I assumed was Harry spluttered. "He's my godfather."

"Oh good," I sighed with relief. The fear that I had been wrong about who these kids were had grown exponentially within a couple of seconds. "So you are Harry Potter! Although I have no idea who you two are…"

"Well I'm Hermoine and this is Ron," The girl began.

"And you are very good at changing the subject." Ron blurted out, scratching the back of his neck.

"I just like knowing who I'm telling secrets about a convict to," I said justifying myself, straightening my back a little. "Back to your question, Harry, I know Sirius from my seventh year of school."

"That's what Remus said, but he didn't say anything else." Harry said a little disappointedly.

"Well is there a Q & A session you want to hold?"

"That's not such a bad-"Ron began before Hermoine interrupted him.

"Oh that's not necessary, it's just that Harry" She threw him another glance. "Would like to know him."

"I dunno if I'm the right person to talk to about this…" I started, shifting uncomfortably. "Remus would know more about him than me, he was his friend longer."

"He told us to come to you, saying the same exact thing!" Ron said again, looking annoyed.

I sighed.

"Oh alright alright, but we need to get some things straight. Firstly, I will not tolerate anyone falling asleep in the middle of me talking. Secondly, no telling me that I was dumb when I finish saying something. Chances are, I already know. Thirdly, nothing I say leaves this store, got it?"

They shook their heads.

"What would you like to know?"

* * *

I basically told them everything except about the time when I was 3 and my brother tossed a rubber ball my way, which ended up with me getting stitches above my eyebrow.

I exhaustedly sat in my kitchen chair, my legs spread out before me. Replaying your past takes a lot out of you, especially if the people you're telling it to want to know every single detail. About when we met, when I knocked on his door, the last time I saw him before he served time…Everything was laid out on the table with a lot of coaxing, I didn't want to relive some of those moments if I could help it.

A knock my apartment door warranted a huge sigh from me.

"Should I come back another time?" A muffled voice said behind the door.

"No, no come on it, it's open." I said rubbing my temples with one hand. Looking up, I saw Harry standing there awkwardly in my kitchen. I sat up a little, a confused look on my face.

"You said you were there when I was born…" He stated even more awkwardly than him standing in my kitchen.

"Yes," I said with a slight question infliction.

"That means you and my mum were good friends, right?"

I had mentioned that in my story time, right? I felt like I had.

"Correct-o, Harry," I replied.

He shifted on his feet.

"Would you like to come in, have some tea, and bring to light memories of your mum?"

His head bobbed, I'm not going to lie, like a puppy.


	17. Chapter 17 Baby It's Cold Outside

**Chpt. 17 Baby It's Cold Outside**

**A/N: Right, so this one really has no apparent additional information to the plot line (since when is there a plot line, eh?), but I thought that since it's the holidays, everyone deserves a little treat.**

**Thanks are going out to those who have alerted this story or have added it to their favorites. You guys are my favorites (yes I am really that cheesy).**

* * *

I sat in the snow in the freezing cold, watching the castle as if it were some heart-stopping TV drama's last episode. It wasn't my fault that they lit the school up beautifully and the garden looked amazingly inviting. Of course, I wasn't invited to the Yule Ball. Apparently you had to be a student or part of the faculty, but that didn't stop me from sitting outside near the old quidditch field acting like a stalker. A very, very enticed stalker.

Not to say I didn't have anything better to do, Rosemerta invited me for some holiday tea and Remus even invited me for a holiday dinner, but I declined both (hence the sitting in the snow freezing my butt off). My loyals have been buying jewelry for this event for past month, getting me to add extra magical sparkle to them, and I knew that it would be beautiful even from the outside.

I was content watching from a few hundred yards away, that's what I've been doing for years. The love those young couples held was something I had always seen from afar, it wasn't like I longed for it. The love Sirius and I had, well that was never normal. We hadn't seen for each other in a couple of months (6, but I wasn't counting) and I wasn't holding my breath to see him for another couple.

I exhaled slowly as I leaned backwards, easing my whole body into the snow. My knees jetted into the sky as my back burned with the coldness that snow usually held, but the night sky was too dazzling not to look at. I inhaled watching the gaseous balls.

It was a few moments of breathing beneath the star, contemplating how in the world I got to where I was, when something gracefully fell on my face.

Truth be told I heard the bird before I ever felt the letter, but birds near the forest didn't seem too out of order.

Immediately sitting up, I held the letter in my hand with my name written on front in a familiar scrawl. Greedily I turned the letter over and tore it open as best I could with fingers still in bulky gloves.

A few minutes later, my eyes scanned over the few chose words one Sirius Black used.

**Agnes,**

**Get back to your place, run if you have to.**

**Sirius.**

**P.S. if you trip and fall, feel free to share.**

My eyes furrowed as I tried to imagine why I would have to go back, but I was a creature of curiosity. I hurried up off my snowy seat and walked (although it felt like jogging) to my apartment as fast as I could.

* * *

I tilted my head in confusion as I looked into my empty apartment. My store was the same way, too. My kitchen stood in all its glory as the light shined paining-ly upon nothing animate.

"I see you took my instructions to heart," Sirius walked suddenly out of my bedroom, still as gaunt as before, yet somehow happier. He walked right in front of me, a smirk upon his lips.

"If I wasn't about to become an icicle, I'd say something witty."

His smirk broadened into a smile.

"How-" I began, before Sirius interrupted.

"We don't have much time, but I thought any little visit would be sufficient"

I wrapped my arms around him as if he'd become a hologram at any second.

"I missed you," He muffled into my hair as his own arms griped my back.

We stood like that for a good 3 minutes, before I started walking him backwards into my kitchen, pulling our hug apart a little so I could look into his face.

"I love you" I said, looking into his eyes that never changed, not even from when we were teenagers.

"I love you," Sirius said before he lowered his lips onto mine.


	18. Chapter 18 Always Where I Need to Be

**Chpt. 18 Always Where I Need to Be.**

**Yes yes I know this is long awaited! I'm sorry, things just started to spread out and my laziness finally evaporated a little....a little...**

**Disclaimer still stands, blah blah blah.**

**Much love to everyone who has reviewed, put an alert on, added this to their favorite, etc! This one's for you *does rock star move, pointing to the crowd with tears in eyes*.**

**

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I stirred the tea in front of me, not keeping my eyes off the man across of me.

I stopped trying to figure out how exactly he got passed the lock on my front door, he'd never tell me ("Where would be the fun in that?").

Everyone and everything in Hogsmeade was somber, Rosemerta has barely opened up her shop for the past two days. Not to say that any of us had a deep personal relationship with Cedric Diggory, he only visited our shops with the polite manners that seemed wrong for a teenage boy to have. His first trip into my shop was to buy a necklace for his date over Christmas break, a gold dragonfly with sparkling green eyes, and he even tried to pay full price because it was "Perfect".

We all felt terrible about the death of someone so young, yes, but we were all scared too.

"Is it true he's back?" I whispered.

"Dumbledore says he is." Sirius reasoned, his own cup drained already.

There were a few minutes where we just looked at each other, the night already taking over the sky.

"What'll happen?"

"I suppose it'll be like the old times."

The old times, the times between school and Lily and James' death. The old times where fear was always a backseat feeling, slowly crawling into the passenger seat.

I didn't have to say anything for Sirius to instinctively grab the hand that wasn't on my mug of tea.

He suddenly stood up, practically dragging me up too. He held both of my hands, his eyes the most vivid objects that I've seen all week.

"Move in with me." He said, his voice matching his eyes.

"What?" I sounded disbelieving, my brows furrowed.

"I know you're still scared, Agnes, and I know Voldemort coming back isn't helping, but you can't tell me it would be safer to be alone."

My eyes wondered all around my apartment, over each surface.

"I don't even know where you live, didn't even know you had a stable place, I-"

"I **do** have a stable place and if you move in, you'll see." Sirius squeezed my hands to get me to look at him. His handsome face searched mine for any inkling of a "yes".

"What am I to do with this place?" I asked weakly. "Seems an awful waster to keep it empty."

"Close off the entrance to the shop, rent it out!" Sirius tried to keep his excitement out of his voice, but he failed miserably.

A noise sounded downstairs, I could only guess it was Rosemerta bringing over food so she didn't have to eat alone.

"Listen," Sirius whispered, pulling me into a hug. "When you're ready, find me."

And before I could even ask how he transformed and padded his way down the stairs. That's when I felt something in my hand, a piece of paper with an address written on it.

* * *

I stared up at the house that had just appeared before me. Magic never got old.

I had shrunk all of my trunks to fit inside my bag, I didn't feel like traveling to London carrying everything I owned fully sized.

Knocking on the door, I looked behind me, the night shadows emphasized each building and tree on the street.

The door creaked open to show a sliver of a face, a gruff "Who is it?" reached my ears.

"Uh-Te-Agnes Buey," I said nervously, tightening my gripe on my purse. I heard another voice from behind the door, a few seconds later the door opened fully showing a smiling Sirius and a man I've never seen before.

"Agnes!" He exclaimed, pulling me into a hug and a kiss.

He let go when the other man coughed awkwardly.

"Oh sorry, Kingsley, this is Agnes. Agnes this is Kingsley."

"Nice to meet you" I said, extending my hand to Kingsley, apparently. He said "Hello" with an accent I couldn't quite place.

"Before I show you to your room-"

"You mean I'm not sleeping on the couch?" I asked as earnestly as I could.

"That can be arranged, but before that happens I want to show you something." He took my hand leading me into a hallway beside the stairs, Kingsley following behind us.

When he first pushed open the door, it looked like a very gloomy kitchen and nothing more. Then I realized there were other people in the room, people I knew.

"Sirius, are you opening up a bed and breakfast?" I whispered a little loudly.

"Hello Teddy" Dumbledore and Remus both greeted as if I didn't say anything, standing by the fire.

"Hello Remus, Dumbledore... everyone" I smiled confusingly towards them, Snape who was also by the fire, and the other man in the room in which Kingsley had sat next to.

"No Teddy, this is not a Bed and Breakfast," Dumbledore was the first to speak, Sirius' hand on the small of my back as we stood in front of the door leading to the hallway. "Although, Sirius, that is a charming idea."

"Oh." I said, waiting for an explanation of whatever was going on.

They all exchanged terse looks, as if daring each other to be the one to tell me.

"Well you see," Sirius started, sifting his feet, he apparently had been the most dared. "With Voldemort coming back and all, Dumbledore thought it was a good idea to bring back the Order of the Phoenix. And since my parent's place already had all sorts of security methods placed on it, I thought it'd be a rather brilliant headquarters."

"Oh," I drew out in a completely different tone than the first time I uttered the syllable.

"Your position is still available," Dumbledore said, studying my face. "But if you don't want to join again…"

"If you don't join though, you'll have to make an Unbreakable Vow to not give out any information." Snape said in that droll voice that he possessed.

"I'll join," I said quickly, not even giving it two thoughts. My old position entailed me spying on the kids in the dress shop, overhearing them and their parents. Contrary to popular belief, even if you tell your kids (who make smashing spies, they hear almost everything that goes on in a house) to keep it a secret, candy or a promise not to stick them with pins over-rules every parent. I assume that the same could happen with jewelry, especially in a place where their parents aren't anywhere near.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, although I knew he knew I'd always say yes. "Agnes, this is…"


	19. Chapter 19 You Are the Best Thing

**Chpt. 19 You Are the Best Thing**

**Ah the joys of updating, tis a truly uplifting experience I must dish.**

Evita82, **yes you may link the story!! You're practically the reason why I decided to update!**

**Disclaimer as always.**

**This is a long one, I must warn. But it'll make your day.**

* * *

Teddy sighed as she apparated back into her (it was a reletavily new feeling for her) home. The ease she had when she first rejoined the Order was slowly disappearing, especially since she hadn't heard a thing.

Or that she remembered students in her store focused more on the juicy gossip, not the dark kind.

Dumbledore told her to wait, that she wasn't as useless as she felt.

There was only one good thing to her useless-ness, Teddy forcedly thought; she could identify with Sirius. Even with the Weasley family over and with Harry (whom he was most excited to see), he still felt incredibly trapped and Teddy felt horrible for not being able to help him, until she started to feel the same. Sirius was still jealous, though, that she got to be _outside_.

"Sirius," she called out wearily, the Back to School Usual Rush made her just want to crawl in bed and have a dreamless sleep.

With no call back, her eyebrows furrowed as she ascended the stairs. Sure, he had become a bit of a hermit, but that didn't mean he left all of his care behind him.

Suddenly, as she climbed the seventh step, Mrs. Weasley appeared into view at the top. She seemed to be unable to suppress a grin, causing Teddy's brows to be furrowed even further.

"A Mr. Sirius Black has requested your presence," She said like butler, evoking Teddy to start walking up the stairs again.

"Molly," She started cautiously, energy building within her "What's going on?"

"Dinner, I believe Agnes."

* * *

I couldn't pretend that I liked hearing my true name issuing from Molly's mouth, but I was curious as to what Sirius was doing that I didn't have the mind set to correct her.

I stopped in front of his door after giving Molly an odd look, my own a few feet down the hall. Should I knock?

Naw, if he wasn't expecting me, then I'd get a kick out of scaring him.

I opened to door with my jaw automatically dropping. I had only been in there once before, I decided to clean it after his countless complaining about not finding a lucky sock, but he had majorly redecorated. There wasn't even a bed, just a table in the middle of the room (with Sirius grinning at it, of course). The walls were covered in what looked like vines with little lights in them providing light for the majority of the room, save for the candle on the small table with a cream colored cloth on it. It was breathtaking.

"Hullo Agnes" He said standing up, taking my arm as if we were at a fancy ball. "Would you like to join me for some dinner?"

"One to ten scale, how angry would you be if I said no?" I asked as Sirius pulled out the seat for me. I had a much better view from the chair; the tiny, twinkling lights were actually bewitched, floating stars and the ceiling mirrored the nighttime sky motif.

With my eyes turned back onto Sirius, he had a bemused look on his face. If it weren't for the fact that he seemed in much better spirits today than any other day for the past month, I'd be a tad bit annoyed. Before I could say anything, though, Mr. Weasley came through the door with a bottle of Champaign.

He had the same grin as Molly; they must have planned this dinner with Sirius.

Pouring the transparent, bubbling yellow drink into our glasses, he said through the grin "Dinner shall be ready momentarily."

"Thank you Arthur," I called as he backed out the door. I turned back to the bemused Sirius. "Don't tell me you've hired them as servants."

"It proves the old adage 'Everyone has a price'." He said simply, fingering the rim of his glass.

"That's a shame," I fake sighed. "I always thought if I got a servant, I'd feel less guilty about giving them things to do; now this will only make my asking them to do my laundry less care-free."

Sirius laughed as he rose his glass in the air, I mimicked.

"To the future," He said with a smile that everyone seemed to have had; there must have been a bulk sale. Our glasses made clinking noises as the door opened again revealing both of the Weasley's with large silver trays that I could only assume as our dinner.

Setting them before us, they gave us one last creepily wide grin before exiting the door without a word.

"Sirius, honestly, give them a raise to be less talkative, it's getting rather annoying."

Lifting lid off of the tray, a sudden rush of steam from the food rushed out and I could only laugh.

"Peas, cornbread and roast beef?" It was my turn to be amused, I searched his face. It was the meal I had when we first met.

"It's a fantastic I hear."

Taking my utensils in my hand, I took a spoon full of peas and gracefully shoved them in my mouth. Well not so gracefully, no matter how old you get, your eating habits (especially with round objects that like to fall off said spoon) stay the same.

"Are these the-"

"Peas from Hogwarts? Yeah, I called in a favor." Sirius laughed, cutting up his meat.

* * *

To say that dinner went terrific would be a lie. It was more than terrific, it was perfect. A well deserved vacation from the real world that we both needed.

Pushing my plate forward, I felt as if I gained ten pounds suddenly.

"I can't eat one single more thing."

"Then you wouldn't want desert?" Molly's voice sounded from the door, carrying a single silver tray this time. Walking into the room, I saw that her grin had by some magical power (I suspect of the Dark kind) grown wider.

She waved her wand, causing everything on the table to disappear except the candle, which moved to the edge of the table to fit the tray (the half-filled bottle of Champaign lad in an ice chiller off to the side. I asked Sirius what was the special occasion, but he ignored me).

Walking out once again, I was left with the now nervous looking Sirius. My arm was slung around the back of my chair, and he was still smiling, but his eyes betrayed a look of uncertainty. How odd.

"You ready?" It was a simple question, and anyone overhearing would assume that he was asking if my stomach felt like it could digest one more thing. But to a trained ear, one would know that he meant something else.

"Yes" I whispered back, squinting my eyes to find out what that "something else" was.

Sirius lifted the lid, not revealing a Devil's Food Cake (like I had hoped), but instead a small velvet box. My eyes widened.

He got off his chair, the suit he had been wearing the whole time didn't seem to wrinkle at all, and kneeled in front of me. I sat up straight, with no knowledge of how to hold my hands.

"You've been on my mind for a while, now Agnes," Sirius stated with a shaky laugh, running his fingers through his hair. "Since I was seventeen, and even then there was something on the back of my mind. It didn't go away when you did, though, and it didn't go away for the thirteen years that I was. When I first saw you again, it exploded in my head and I knew what I wanted to do, but I also knew why I couldn't. You were afraid and I had to prove to you not to be. So I got stability, I got a house that you could come home to and I tried to show you in every way that I could that I wasn't going anywhere."

He raked his hair once more, the box almost glimmering in his other hand. I caught my breath.

"I love you Agnes Theodora Buey and I feel like there's nothing left to do than this." Sirius lifted the lid of the box revealing a silver ring with a black diamond cut stone in the middle that had a luster all of its own. "Will you marry me?"

I never knew what it felt like to be amputated, I had gone through my life with all my limbs, but I couldn't possibly know what my right hand did in that moment, what my legs were doing, not even my neck. All I knew was that I lifted my left hand out, my finger practically begging for the ring.

As Sirius slid the ring on, his eyes never leaving mine with all the uncertainty being squished out by happiness, I choked out a "Yes."

I repeated that word so many times I felt as if it was the only thing I knew, Sirius stood up grabbing me along with him, spinning me around. I heard the door open and the Weaseley's ecstatic cries, but they were all drowned out by my "yes's".


	20. Chapter 20 Marry Me

**Chpt. (something, I truly forget what number I'm on.....and I'm lazy)**

**Disclaimer is the same**

**And I knooooooooooooow this one has really been forever. But the movie inspired me (albeit it had nothing really to do with Sirius and I wasn't even that much of a fan...I digress) and tada!**

* * *

Papers scattered everywhere as the door flew open and Sirius sounded a loud "Agnes!"

In turn, I let out a huge sigh and laid back against my four poster bed- the quill dropping out of my hand.

"Oh bloody hell," Sirius said, realizing what he had done. "I'm sorry!"

He then attempted to pick up the finished invitations that littered the floor. Maybe "littered" wasn't the right word, I don't think that ten envelops can cover the floor of my room.

"Its fine, I sealed them already. " I stated, draping a hand over my forehead. I had felt a headache coming on since the morning when a costumer walked in wanting a jewel encrusted cane in the shape of a giraffe.

"You okay- I told you that making the invitations by hand would lead to bad things?"

"I just think you knew at one point you'd mess up the invitations if I did them myself," I laughed a little. "Besides, it's not like we had that many to invite, let alone make."

I didn't mean for that statement to come out as bitter as it sounded, but my feelings were hard to hide. I was stressed out by my job, by the lack of information I provided for the Order and first and foremost by this wedding. It shouldn't have stressed me out though, something Sirius kept pointing out to me. The wedding had to take place at Sirius' place and Molly already offered to cater. Madame Menkin already promised to make me a wedding dress when I worked there (although I couldn't tell her who I was marrying, something she didn't like when I walked back into that store to take up her offer). Basically the only thing I had to do was the invitations.

"Look, I know this isn't your dream wedding," Sirius said scooting next to me on my bed, dropping his arm around my shoulders. "And I'm sorry for all the things I've done to make it that way, but you love me remember. And I love you and that's what it's supposed to be about."

We stayed like that for a minute in silence. I relaxed against his arm, drinking in his words. Sirius had to keep my morale up during these times, to make sure I wouldn't run away like the last times. He had to keep reminding me that I was already in love so that the gypsies were already wrong and nothing would happen to renege our love.

It helped a lot.

"I know," I sighed "But I can't even invite my own parents."

"I know. " He ruffled my hair and kissed the top of my head. "I know."

"I can't even tell them that I'm getting married, I can't rub it in my brother's face that I'm getting married without him like he did to me. And my sister can't even be the ring barer." My eyes were tearing up a little, despite the fact that I wasn't over not going to Greece for my brother's wedding. Or that I never did promise my sister that she could be the ring barer.

"How 'bout this; when my name is cleared, we'll have another wedding and they'll be the only ones invited?"

"What if we're sixty when your name is cleared?"

"Then you might need to dress up your cane with some vines while walking down the aisle." I laughed smally.

"December 30?"

"December 30, Agnes." We both had on smiles.

* * *

My stomach gargled as I swept my hands over the white silk adorning my body.

"You look beautiful, Teddy." Molly said, a hand on my shoulder, the other holding a veil. She looked paler than normal, but I suppose that's what happens when your husband was in a hospital for most of the winter vacation and only returned home a week ago. Sirius and I told her that we could postpone the wedding until the summer when Arthur was better and Harry and her children could come but she had none of that. She said she promised this wedding and she wasn't going to give that up.

Sirius and I thought that she just wanted a distraction from her ill husband and we decided to provide that distraction for her. So that's why I was standing in my own room getting ready for a wedding I'd thought I'd never have while all of the members of the Order, the Weasely children and Harry sat down stairs (although I'm not sure if Harry and Remus were sitting, they were Sirius' best men).

"Yeah Teddy, beautiful, "Hermoine and Ginny ushered, standing behind Molly in a way that I could see only their faces in the mirror. They wore identical lilac dresses, being that they were my bridesmaids (posing as stand in sisters, although they'd come to feel like legit sisters over the summer holiday) while Molly posed as my mother and matron of honor (she wore a respectable lilac skirt suit). Molly reached up and put the veil into my softly curled hair.

"Am I supposed to feel beautiful?" I asked, fingering my bouquet of baby's breath, staring at the simple, soft white gown in front of me. "Because all I feel are the butterflies in my body."

"That's the feeling, dear," Molly smiled as I looked into her eyes in the mirror. "Although for my wedding I had elephant feet pounding my stomach."

She successfully made me smile for the first time.

"It's time," Ron said, peaking his head through the opening in the door that he made. You could even tell that he was uncomfortable in his dress robes.

"Now I feel the elephant feet" I said smally, my eyes widening as I turned away from the mirror.

* * *

Our fingers laced together above the sheets.

"Mrs. Sirius Black," He cooed at me, his face leaning towards mine.

"Why can't I ever have a normal name?" I laughed, leaning my forehead against his. "And why can't I call you anything?"

"You can call me Sirius Black."

"Yeah but that's not new," I said. "And I can't call you Sirius Buey either. You can signify our marriage by calling me Mrs. Sirius Black, but I'm stuck with your same old name."

"Life is just cruel for you Mrs. Sirius Black," He laughed, leaning in and giving me a kiss. "What ever will you do?"

"Ideally?" I asked, to which he nodded at. "Stay like this with you for forever."


	21. Chapter 21 My Girls

**Chapter 21 (WE'RE IN THE TWENTIES ALREADY!) My Girls**

**Disclaimer, blah.**

**So to clarify some things. I realize that I've never said if Teddy was a pure blood, or a half blood or muggle born. I just never really thoguht about it, but this chapter has some muggle-dealings so I figure she's a half blood on account of her mother's muggle-ness.**

**And I've been getting the name of the dressmaker wrong, it's Malkin. Silly me.**

**I would like to say that this chapter was inspired by Juno, but I haven't seen that movie in a year, nor have I put any quotes in here. Truth be told, I just was listening to Kimya Dawson earlier. **

**And Trekkie, thanks for putting this on alert! It sort of sped up the process of updating.**

* * *

"So you're pregnant?"

That simple, yet loaded question was the only thing to tear my eyes away from my latest Eiffel Tower piece. I had plans to make it sparkle like the real tower did whenever the sun goes down, but at that moment I had to look whatever costumer asked that in the face.

"When are you due?" I realized it was one of my Loyals, Stacey, and her face just beamed as if her questions were socially normal and applied to anyone.

Of course, my heart racing probably meant that I was overreacting to this question. Stacey knew that I had gotten married a month ago (although I couldn't tell her to whom) and perhaps she was just questioning when I was planning on having kids (which also didn't seem like an appropriate thing to ask either, but was slightly more acceptable than assuming I was already pregnant).

But how could Stacey have known that lately I was having terrible motion sickness and I could smell someone's deodorant from a mile away? And quite frankly, how did she know that I skipped a period?

"I-I beg your pardon?" I finally stated with a confused face. She held a bracelet in her hand like she was expecting to buy something, but most of my costumers (especially my loyals) didn't start off a business transaction like that. I leaned back in my chair, trying to get her to see that my stomach was not bulging with a baby.

_"Yet,"_ a voice in the back of my head that I choice to ignore said.

But her seeing my stomach didn't make her smile diminish or the color fade from her face, which usually happened when someone realized they made a big mistake like that. Instead she just re-asked "When is the due date for your baby?" and then added "Have you found out if it's a boy or a girl?"

I just stuttered around making a complete sentence, searching for something to say besides "I'm not pregnant", because I had a simple feeling she wouldn't take that for an answer.

And partly because I knew I had some of the symptoms of being pregnant. But that was a very small part, miniscule even.

Something must have clicked in Stacey's head because her smile finally lost some of its area and she almost dropped the bracelet that she was holding.

"Oh you must think I'm a terrible person!" She ushered, sounding like a normal 15 year old and for a minute I thought she was going to usher an apology next (a minute mind you, is not a very long time). "I'm a quarter Elvin."

At that moment I recognized her impossibly blonde hair and fair skin, but how her genealogy explained why she thought I had a bun in the oven didn't make sense.

When I gave her an even more confused look, Stacey spoke again.

"Elves are extra sensitive to life forms. They're like dementours in detecting human beings, minus the whole 'evil, soul sucking being' part. Anyway, I can detect two beings in your seat, so you must be pregnant!"

She explained it like it was the most natural thing in the world (maybe her being part Elf meant that it was normal for her), and during it Professor Binn's class on Elves vaguely re-entered my head.

But whether or not I remembered his speech verbatim didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was that she confirmed the nagging question in the back of my mind without meaning to. I sat still in my seat besides draping an arm over my head.

"Oh," Stacey exclaimed. "Am I the first to know? How exciting, you have to keep me updated on what you're going to name the baby and everything!"

She didn't quite seem to grasp how surprised I was about being pregnant.

Finally, after what seemed like ten decades of her pearly whites staring at me, I leaned forward again and weakly asked "I'll give you 50% off of that,"

* * *

"Hey Remus," Sirius called from the love seat in the small, almost purely white room off of the kitchen. "Can you come in here?"

The door sung open and Remus' frame stood preventing from the door to properly close, he looked like he wasn't expecting this little talk to take long. His face was long and Teddy knew he was having a hard time within the Order, so Teddy tried to offer a smile from her position of being on the other side of Sirius.

"So you know how Agnes here is pregnant," Sirius lead, his arm around her shoulder tightening.

It took everything in Remus' power not to scoff, it was only April and Teddy was showing rather blantly. Pregnancy, though, some how suited Teddy- her face didn't round like a beach ball and fingers seemed less long and spindly.

"Well she has an appointment with some gyno-collosull, gyno-pterydactul-"

"Gynecologist, Sirius" Teddy corrected, laughing over Sirius' pronunciation.

"Right…she has an appointment with a muggle doctor," The moment Sirius put the look on his face, Remus knew Sirius wanted something and he could only dread what it was. "And I can't go looking like myself because they'd cart me away again, and you don't want a pregnant woman in a fragile state like Agnes (this time Remus really did scoff, Agnes was probably the most dependent female he ever met) to be left alone do you?"

It took a while for Remus to realize what Sirius had truly asked, underneath all of the words he actually said. What Sirius wanted explained the odd potion brewing in the kitchen that he had been examining before he was called.

Remus sighed in a defeated acceptance.

* * *

"Come on, just kiss me once!" A man who looked like Remus begged in the waiting room of the gynecologist, sitting right next to Teddy.

"No," Teddy giggled, pushing the man away lightly with her arms. "It's too weird!"

"Aw, Agnes, it's still me beneath this skin," The man laughed back, taking her hands and kissing them with his lips, making Teddy erupt in more giggles.

The only other couple in the room, an elderly couple, looked at Teddy and "Remus" fondly, glad to see that the youth was still capable of love (even more to see the wedding rings on their fingers).

A few minutes passed, Teddy still giggling and Sirius still trying to make her kiss him even though he was in disguise as their friend, before a nurse in pink scrubs opened the door that led to the rest of the doctor rooms and called "Agnes Lupin?"

Teddy got up and dusted off her blue and white maternity top, she felt like someone had used an expanding spell, it was only four months and she gained fifteen pounds. With Remus' (Sirius') hand on her back, Teddy was led to the fourth room on the right and was told to put on the hospital gown lying on the doctor's table, before the door closed.

"You should never do this again," Teddy stated, looking at Sirius, who sat beside the table that Teddy was sitting on, in a peach metal chair.

"Why not, aren't you curious at all the talents Remus has been hiding from us?" Apparently, the fact that he was double jointed, counted as a talent.

The door opening made the conversation drop, a woman in her thirties stepped into the room with a white coat.

"Hello, Agnes," She outstretched her hand to Agnes. "I am Dr. Hemming; obviously you're doctor for today!"

She laughed a little before outstretching her hand to Remus (Sirius) for him to shake, "And you are?"

"Remus Lupin, her husband." S said proudly.

"Oh congratulations, when did you get married?"

"In December," Teddy answered with a smile.

Dr. Hemming smiled and looked back at her charts, "This says you're roughly 17 weeks along…"

Her voice quieted as she realized the time line of Teddy's pregnancy and her wedding coincided. All thoughts of a shot-gun wedding were diminished, though, when Remus (Sirius) leaned forward in his chair with a devilish grin and not-so-quietly whispered to the Doctor "We know, I've just got super sperm."

* * *

The sound of the ultrasound machine was loud and annoying, but that didn't bother Teddy. Her eyes were glued on the images of the screen that was a few feet away. Sirius' hand squeezed hers and she didn't even care that it was in the form of Remus', her eyes were glued.

"And that," Dr. Hemming way said with a small smile and she moved the cursor left on Teddy's stomach "is his feet, by the looks of it, he'll be a tall one."

In perfect unison and in perfect amazement, the young couple in the doctor's office said "Oh wow".


	22. Chapter 22 Grapevine Fires

**Chpt. 22 Grapevine Fires.**

**Disclaimmmmmer.**

**So this one is sad (honestly between this and the Fourth Hallow, I'm going to make myself depressed) but the good news is I plan on writing only one other chapter! I can almost hit that "complete" button!**

**Anyways, I'd like to thank Chibi for alerting this story!**

* * *

I could have sworn to a judge that the rag I had been holding only minutes before flung itself at the wall, thus creating a large streak of wet, dirty water upon the wall.

Not that the wall wasn't dirty to begin with, or that I was fairly certain that the streak would actually improve the wall's appearance- but none the less I was sitting on the floor of the formal dining room, ragless.

Judging from all the previous places I've ever lived before, I thought eating in the kitchen/living area was perfectly normal and practiced tradition throughout the country. Then I moved into Sirius' house and realized that I underestimated how many reasons there were for having two dining rooms.

One was for enemies, I suspected, judging by the faded blood red color upon the walls and the black, bony looking chairs around a rectangular table. Maybe not enemies, maybe just for Christmas dinner when the in-laws were passing through.

The other, the one I was currently trying to clean, was used for guests the Black's actually liked. Sure the walls were a deep hue of blue, and the furniture in the room followed the dark suit- but there were medals and certificates that any Black had ever received in the history of the world (one dates back to 103 B.C. for saving a Pharaoh's life from an asp bite) and I could only imagine that Sirius' family would want to parade their achievements around their liked guests.

I had been desperately trying to clean the dust build up on the tables and chairs, a thing Kreature neglected to do in all of his years of living here. Another thing he's neglected? My presence; he down right ignores me when I'm in the room (which isn't very often), not even in his mutterings. Maybe it's because technically our child will be a pureblood, maybe it's because even Mrs. Black's portrait refuses to believe that we're married and the only way to ignore that is to ignore my presence completely.

Not that I don't enjoy being ignored, it's just eerie.

It was the beginning of June and I was already on bed-rest from my doctor- apparently jewelry making was a very tiring job for a pregnant woman. I couldn't leave the house, much like Sirius, and even though I enjoyed our extra time together- I hated the fact that the only thing to do in the house was clean or eat, and I was already at the perfect weight for a pregnant person of my stature.

So slowly and surely, I re-went through the rooms that M did during the last year and tried to scrub every surface I could. If it weren't for my scrubbing, my son (Sirius wanted to name him after himself, but I had no plans in having my son be apart of the world of puns) would be in a playground of dust. Usually the non-coming-off-grime, like on the chairs in the dining room, didn't bother me as quickly as it did today. Usually I would spend half an hour scrubbing the muggle way (which was by no means harder than making jewelry, nor required more physical strain) then I would attack the chair with my wand.

But with these chairs it hadn't even been ten minutes.

Maybe it was because I already re-cleaned the drawing room today, and that this room was just a bonus. Maybe it was because Sirius had dashed out of the house with other Order members without explaining a thing to me other than "Harry might be in trouble" before I had dinner even finished.

I don't know, they're both pretty much tied, in my opinion.

I could feel the muscles in my arms screaming from all the up and down movement, and it didn't occur to me until I lied completely on my back next to the chairs that a spongy carpet in a dining room made perfect sense. My eye lids fluttered shut, the worry I felt slowly slipped away.

* * *

He was four weeks early, but the medi-withces said he was in perfect condition and if he had "cooked" in my stomach any longer, he'd probably weigh the same as a baby elephant.

Their attempt at a joke didn't amuse me, although at that moment I greatly appreciated that I wasn't an elephant.

A small baby boy (had that really been in my stomach the whole entire time? Almost like with Lily and James, I expected ingredients to chocolate chip cookies, not the sweetest human being I've ever seen), with the appropriate blue hat and blue fleece blanket surrounding him like a cloak, rested in my arms. People say that babies are supposed to cry all the time, that they're supposed to be annoying and loud 24-7, but my baby was sleeping in my arms as if it was Versailles.

I could hear Harry breathing beside me before he even spoke, and for once someone sneaking upon me didn't make me jump. That would've startled the beauty in my arms.

"He's beautiful," Harry said awkwardly, you could tell he hadn't been around many babies before and had no idea what to say. Not that I had, either- only one to be exact. "He looks exactly like-"

He stopped for a minute, breathing deeply. I didn't dare look up.

"Like his father." I finished the sentence for him, my baby stirred, but his eyes stayed shut.

We stayed quiet for a minute or two more, both watching my son.

"Thanks for coming, Harry." I said lowly, finally looking up at him. He wasn't the first to come, Molly and Arthur were, along with their family (Harry had opted to stay home for that trip). My own parents were coming within the week- although I couldn't imagine it beginning or ending well (it was a rather odd experience to tell your own folks that you were at the hospital carrying their grandson) and Remus promised to help us get settled at home.

Home- it was only my home now.

"Listen, "Harry started off softly, touching my son's hand that managed to escape the fleece cocoon. "I-I'm sorry for…for what I di-"

"Do you want to be the godfather?"

"What?"

Harry was startled as he realized I wasn't pulling a strange joke. I looked up at him earnestly, his hand stayed on my son's finger.

"Don't you realize what I did?" He said finally, I could only guess at how much regret he felt at that moment. "That it was all because of me?"

"Don't you realize I was never supposed to fall in love and yet here I am, thinking I could never love anything more than the being in my arms?" I said, looking down again. My voice wasn't getting louder; it stayed at the same low tone that I'd adopted when I first found out I was to be a widow. "I learned a long time ago that it doesn't matter what you cause, just how you deal with the effects."

Harry shifted on his feet.

"And I think you should deal by giving Sirius Black Jr. a godfather."

Sirius Black Jr.'s hand slowly wrapped around Harry's finger as he wiggled in my arms once more.


	23. Chapter 23 WeHaveAllthe Time inThe World

**Chapter 23. We Have All the Time in the World.**

**Well this is odd. My baby is finally ca-put. A part of me is proud that I actually finished a series. A part of me thinks that a "deleted scenes" fic will be put up for this one because I'm terrible at saying goodbye.**

**Anyways, I hope this puts everyone in a happy place! It's only 531 words (I can't even describe my dreams in 531 words, how is this possible?), so I hope it's enjoyable.**

* * *

"And tell Sirius to brush his teeth," An old woman laughed, lying on a hospital bed in St. Mungo's. People were buzzing through the ward as if there was a fire going on in every other part of the building, but the old woman looked content with her wrinkled face grinning and her hand being held by a man with black hair.

"He's 37, I'm sure he knows." Harry laughed, squeezing the frail bones. "Besides, he's coming in right after me- bringing Jeanie and Greg."

"I don't," Teddy began to cough. "I don't know if I can stay till then."

Panic flashed through Harry and he quickly turned to the door, thinking up the quickest way to get their attention.

"Don't worry, Harry," She laughed to cover the cough. "We've said our goodbyes, managed to get him to promise not to name his next child after me- Merlin knows it took long enough for me to become an old grandma to fit the name"

Harry watched as her laugh slowly subsided and she fidgeted a little in her bed. He couldn't help but wonder what Sirius would've looked like if he got to be as old as Teddy. He knew that Sirius Black Jr. looked like a spitting image of his father, but he didn't have the scars as the elder had, or the experiences.

Finally finding a comfortable possession in her bed, Teddy let her eyes flutter closed, her hand still wrapped in Harry's. It was fitting, in a way, for Harry to be the last one with her- not because he was the last one for many people, but because he was the last one with Sirius.

"Th-thank you, Harry" Teddy murmured, the wrinkles around her mouth barely moving.

"Are you sure you don't want me to get your son?"

"N-no…it's time to see my husband." Her last words were barely audible as medi-w flooded around H, her hand ripped from hers as they tried to revive her.

* * *

"It's about bloody time you died," Sirius said, standing in front of Teddy in a white robe, still with his unruly hair.

Teddy looked down at herself; she wasn't the old woman that she was when she died. She looked like she was seventeen again, a flowing white sundress. She felt an odd sense of calm; it wasn't odd that Sirius was there in front of her or that she was in a place that felt familiar.

A light breeze pushed her hair out from behind her, grass invading her feet each time she took a step towards Sirius.

"Someone had to take care of our son," She stated accusingly as their hands intertwined. "If I hadn't been there, he probably would've been as much as a trouble maker as you were!"

"But he is a troublemaker."

"Could you imagine it any other way?" Teddy laughed as they continued to walk on through the grass. She thought she could see a lake in the foreground, but large trees loomed in the way.

"Where are we going?"

"Agnes, it's the afterlife. 'Where' doesn't matter."


End file.
